By educating staff, experienced nurse leaders are instrumental in the transformation of memory care communities into life-affirming homes for residents with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. Read More »
Are opioid painkillers safer and more effective than over-the-counter medications in the senior population? A National Safety Council white paper looks at both sides of the question. Read More »
Brookdale Senior Living and HCP will acquire a portfolio of 35 private-pay senior housing communities for $849 million under the terms of an agreement announced today. Read More »
Not all childhood memories are pleasant. Catching the chickenpox was a bummer, but you got over it. The angry red spots and itchiness went away, but chickenpox left a souvenir—the herpes zoster virus. Read More »
AMDA–The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine has resources you can use to show appreciation to the long-term care physicians with whom you work. Read More »
While some residents balk at vacating their rooms for scheduled cleaning and maintenance, they are happy settling back down in a refreshed, relaxing environment. Read More »
Infection prevention is about much more than hand-washing, and many skilled nursing facilities are re-examining their infection control processes under the culture of safety. Read More »
Your first step in creating a secure facility is to engage a healthcare security professional to take a hard look at your long-term care operation to offer recommendations and solutions to security issues. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it has found little evidence to support or refute the possibility that the use of quality measures has had unintended consequences in nursing homes and other settings. Read More »
Injections, blood draws and some testing procedures expose healthcare personnel to the risk of a sharps injury. A sharps prevention program is key to preventing the spread of blood-borne pathogens. Read More »
Getting tasks or treatments completed on time can be challenging in a nursing home. But when it happens, staff should find a common-sense solution to make up for lost time without disrupting residents' activities. Read More »
Aging services providers are relative newcomers to purchasing and using electronic medical records (EMR) systems, but the necessity of such systems in long-term care settings is becoming more important. A continuing care retirement community shares its EMR selection and implementation experience. Read More »
Two recent fires—one a tragedy, one a triumph—prove the wisdom of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services mandate to require sprinkler systems in skilled nursing facilities. Read More »
An examination of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nursing Home Compare data generates disturbing insights on the number of fines levied on skilled nursing facilities. Read More »
New research reveals the most expensive states for care in nursing homes and assisted living communities and from home healthcare providers. Read More »
Not only does a SNF survey cause long-term care staff concern, but residents witness the process firsthand to see how the care they receive is evaluated. Read More »
Newly released data from the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers show where older Americans are living in nursing homes and residential care facilities or receiving home healthcare, hospice care or adult day services. Read More »
One community finds its firefighters performing assistance tasks that should be addressed by caregivers or staff at skilled nursing facilities. Read More »
A skilled nursing facility in a New York hospital has removed bed/chair fall alarm systems to becoming an alarm-free care setting in an innovative program to improve residents' quality of care and quality of life. Read More »
The federal government has produced a free guide to help senior living operators and staff members combat the financial exploitation of residents, which has implications beyond those you might expect. Read More »
The Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published the first federal regulations for the long-term care ombudsman programs in the Federal Register in an effort to improve consistency among state programs. Read More »
This month’s annual meeting of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology featured a keynote by HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell announcing the agency’s plan to increase the adoption of health IT. Read More »
