Month: February 2016

Words of others

Curses! SNF resident blogger Kathleen Mears talks about what can happen when staffers use foul language, especially if residents view it as disrespect. Read More »

Dementia bathing: How to keep a bath from becoming a battle

What makes for an enjoyable bathing experience for some may not be the best strategy for those with dementia. Read tips from a national dementia expert on how to avoid struggles and fears in residents with cognitive decline at bathing time. Read More »

7 steps to building a dementia-capable system

Our infrastructure wasn’t built to accommodate people with dementia, but we can build one. And it starts with proper diagnosis. Read More »

Pew research: Fewer female seniors living alone for first time in nearly a century

The number of seniors living alone had risen steeply since 1900, but for the past 26 years, the percentage of senior women living alone has dropped. Yet, more than half of seniors surveyed in the research say they'd prefer to stay at home than move to a professional care setting if they could have a caregiver. Read More »

Canada tries again for national dementia strategy

Canadian lawmakers introduced a bill today that would form a national strategy to grapple with the social, economic and medical costs of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias. Last year, a similar bill was defeated by a single vote. Read More »

Some viral infections could cause cognitive decline

Researchers found exposure to certain chronic viral infections, which can linger in the body long after infection, are associated with cognitive decline in seniors. Read More »

Possible new drug for Alzheimer’s already on the market

Researchers have found ‘neurostatin’ targets the first step of the reaction that leads to Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting a preventative treatment plan similar to how statins reduce the risk of heart disease. Read More »

A disciplined approach to growth capital

Growth and evolution go hand in hand for LTC providers who finance wisely. Ziegler offers tips on how to evaluate financial options when it's time to expand. Read More »

FDA approves deep brain stimulation procedure for Parkinson’s

Medtronic's Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy receives new approval to extend its uses to less advanced Parkinson's cases. Read More »

4 marketing strategies long-term care gets wrong (and how to fix them)

Long-term care providers need to take care to address their marketing shortcomings because getting the word out about their facility is key to their long-term success. Read More »

A smoking light fixture

SNF resident blogger Kathleen Mears relates an exciting moment in the dining room, and how everyone reacted when smoke began pouring out of a dining room light fixture. Read More »

LeadingAge report: Options for LTSS financing makeover

Financing for long-term care services and suppports (LTSS) is in big trouble and needs new financing options that don't push all the burden onto Medicaid.  A new report from LeadignAge explores some alternatives. Read More »

Iowa won’t require nursing home employees to complete dementia care training

State legislators failed to pass a bill that would have required nursing home employees to learn how and be assessed on how they care for people with dementia.  Read More »

MatrixCare, CliftonLarsonAllen partner to help providers with value payment

CliftonLarsonAllen will consult MatrixCare clients on how to implement value based payment model initiatives.  Read More »

Griffin-American Healthcare REIT IV to launch $3B IPO

The mammoth real estate investment trust (REIT) has added daughter-company #4, and the SEC has approved an IPO that could top $3 billion. Read More »

New housing construction cools, memory care still hot

Fewer senior housing organizations plan to pursue new construction in 2016, but plenty plan to do some renovating and repositioning for a better service mix, notes the latest survey data from Lancaster Pollard. Read More »

Kindred partners with Avalere for improved data analytics

The multi-year agreement gives the nation's largest post-acute care provider access to data analytics that can help improve care outcomes in real time.  Read More »

An Alzheimer’s-like disease that leaves people speechless

Researchers don't know much about primary progressive aphasia, a neurological syndrom that makes it difficult for people to express their thougths. It's often mistaken for dementia, though most people are able to remain independent.  Read More »

Predatory legal advertising: How nursing homes can respond

Legal advertisements that aim to exploit nursing homes often hit way below the belt, and nursing homes have the right to challenge them. Legal expert Alan C. Horowitz, JD, RN, explains what nursing homes can do to fight back against misleading and deceptive legal advertisements. Read More »

3-D ‘mini-brain’ could be future of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s research

Researchers have grown human neurons and cells that mimic the brain's structures and functions. The mini-brains could eliminate the need for animal drug testing, the results of which are often unreliable in humans.  Read More »

Key to continuity of care a single doctor

A piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association found high-risk older adults benefit from having a phsyician follow them throughout their continuum of care from the hospital to the skilled nursing facility to home.  Read More »

CMS, AHIP release core quality measures to align documentation

CMS and major insurers will use the core measures to synchronize the way quality care is defined and measured, reducing the reporting burden on providers. Read More »

Firefighters heat things up at ALF

Arizona firefighters delivered flowers to more than 50 female residents at an assisted living facility this Valentine's Day.  Read More »

Home health, hospice M&As heat up

Several senior care services companies added to their portfolios in a flurry of home health mergers and acquisitions. Read More »

Rx for obesity

Medicare has long invested in the coverage of prescription drugs to treat chronic diseases. But a growing number of people think Medicare is missing the boat by not covering medications used to treat obesity. Read More »

Say what? Hearing loss increases risk of dementia

Older adults with hearing loss are more likely to develop dementia, research suggests. Read More »

‘Cautious optimism’ over decline in dementia cases

Researchers have noticed a steady decline in dementia cases in the 40 years between the 1970s and the 2000s, but the rising numbers of older adults will keep the battle with other types of dementia top of mind for many years to come, notes longitudinal study data in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read More »

I (still) do: Memory care center hosts vow renewals

The Valentine’s Day spirit was in full force at Stoneybrook Memory Care in McKinney, Texas, as dementia care residents and their spouses renewed their marriage vows and their commitments to stay together despite the disease. Read More »