Megan Combs
Megan Combs was Associate Editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2013-2018.
Report: Antipsychotic drug use in nursing homes drops
Data from the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes shows a significant drop in the use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes. Read More » Pennsylvania creates task force to oversee nursing home care
The task force has been asked to identify ways the health department can advance quality improvement in the state's LTC facilities. Read More » Senator questions integrity of five-star nursing home rating system
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) has called for an investigation of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's five-star nursing home compare tool. Read More » Addiction in seniors: ‘It’s at epidemic levels’
A "silver tsunami" of addicted seniors is coming, warned a speaker at this week's National Conference on Addiction Disorders, hosted by sister-publication Addiction Professional. Read More » 5 best practices for social media
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn... What does social media have to do with the business of assisted living? The social media staff at Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan share their tips for using social media wisely and well. Read More » Improving your website on a budget
Three long-term care marketing professionals weigh in on the 5 things any community can do to make its website more friendly to prospective customers, even on a tight budget. Read More » Online marketing for assisted living
More seniors and their families are using the Internet to evaluate and "window shop" for assisted living communities. What does your website say about you? Read More » 6 resident care pitfalls for SNFs
Six common resident care issues can become big problems for skilled nursing facility care if not dealt with carefully. The Justice in Aging organization suggests ways to confront and solve them. Read More » Women impersonate nursing home staff, allegedly steal $11k of jewelry
Police in North Carolina are looking for two women who suited up in hospital scrubs and allegedly stole jewelry from residents at two nursing homes. Read More » An eye drop that dissolves cataracts under development
The eye drops shrink cataracts until they are dissolved. Read More » New Alzheimer’s drugs may also help people with Parkinson’s
Drugs that target "protein misfolding" could be useful for many neurodegenerative diseases. Read More » Women with cognitive impairment decline faster than men
Women with mild cognitive impairment decline twice as fast as men with the same condition. Read More » Saliva could predict early onset Alzheimer’s
A saliva test could predict Alzheimer's even in people who don't yet have memory or cognition problems associated with the disease. Read More » CMS proposes mandatory antibiotic stewardship programs in LTC
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' proposed rule would require long-term care facilities to establish an antibiotic stewardship program in order to participate in Medicare. Read More » 150 seniors evacuated from W. Hollywood floods
The 134-unit senior apartment building was flooded by heavy rain on Sunday. Read More » When laughter is the best medicine
A hospital in Washington has learned what long-term care facilities have known for years: There is no better medicine than laughter. Read More » ONC creates roadmap for Health IT Safety Center
An Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology task force has created a roadmap to improve identification and sharing of information on health IT-related safety events. Read More » Study: Seniors in subsidized housing have poorer vision
Compared to the rate of visual impairment in the general older adult population, seniors living in subsidized housing have considerably worse vision. Read More » Uber teams up with senior living communities to offer on-demand transportation
At the White House Conference on Aging this week, Uber announced it is teaming up with senior living communities to make transportation easier for residents. Read More » ALFA forms partnership to support Dementia Friendly America
ALFA is working with US Against Alzheimer's on an initiative that aims to build a more dementia-friendly nation. Read More » Alice Bonner, MD, earns Champion of Quality Award from AHCA/NCAL
Alice Bonner, MD, earned the award for her contributions to quality in the long-term and post-acute care community, especially in dementia care. Read More » Florida senior living provider partners with NFL to build 33 new communities
Validus Senior Living and the NFL Alumni Association have partnered to build assisted living and memory care facilities in major cities with a high concentration of retired NFL players. Read More » Proposed CMS rule would require health information exchange for LTC
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services wants all nursing homes and long-term care facilities to participate in health information exchange. Read More » NIH’s Go4Life Month encourages active living in seniors
Go4Life Month in September aims to encourage exercise and daily activities in adults over age 50. Read More » White House Conference on Aging: New program and initiative roundup
The White House Conference on Aging was held Monday, and several new programs and initiatives were announced. Read More » Government audits find extensive Medicare Advantage overcharges
Some Medicare Advantage patients were overpaying by thousands of dollars a year, according to government audits. Read More » Merger creates largest nonprofit LTC provider in California
ABHOW and be.group merge to create California's largest nonprofit senior living provider. Read More » ProPublica report: Blood thinner Coumadin is causing deaths, injuries in nursing homes
The president of Geriatric Practice Management calls Coumadin "the most dangerous drug in America." Read More » Obama nominates Andy Slavitt as new CMS Administrator
Andy Slavitt has been serving as acting administrator since February. Read More » 