Pamela Tabar
Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master's degree in English from the University of York, England.
PICC wisely: New best practice guidelines for catheters and IVs
New guidelines call for more justification, better criteria for the long-term use of PICCs and other types of intravenous catheters. How can nursing homes apply the best practices to improve resident safety? Read More » The Joint Commission launches antibiotics awareness campaign
The agency’s new educational program aims to curb inappropriate antibiotic use by helping residents and families understand what antibiotics can—and can't—do. Read More » Seniors and teens: Multigenerational meetups matter
Finding enriching activities to keep seniors engaged might be easier than you think--just involve the teens. Researchers say it’ll be healthy for everyone. Read More » Calif. legislature passes right-to-die bill
California’s State Assembly passed a right-to-die bill Wednesday that could have monumental impact on hospice and long-term care processes in the state, especially in terms of late-stage dementia care. The bill now moves on to the State Senate. Read More » 2015 OPTIMA: hospital transfers analysis [VIDEO]
Silvercrest's avoidable hospitalizations team meet each week to discuss residents who have made a recent trip to the hospital, and what changes in care might prevent it from happening next time. Read More » A breath for life: The complete coverage of the 2015 OPTIMA Award winner
Coverage of Long-Term Living's 2015 OPTIMA Award winner—including the main article, companion articles, photos, video and a blog—gathered here in one place for your convenience. Read More » ALFA, ASHA: Proposed changes to labor exemptions will be ‘harmful to industry’
The Department of Labor’s proposed changes to the way "exempt employees" are defined and the minimum salary requirements exemptions for certain categories of employees and institute minimum salary requirements for exempt status will do more harm than good in the senior care market, say two of the nation’s senior living associations. Read More » CMS unveils 4-year plan to improve health equity
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services releases six priorities to reduce health disparities among Medicare beneficiaries over the next four years. Read More » Popular Alzheimer’s drug now available in generic patch
A drug used to treat mild cognitive impairment will now be cheaperand easier to administer. Read More » Reducing readmissions: The hospice factor
One nursing home reduced its avoidable hospital visits by educating its residents and families on the role of hospice care—including the importance of respecting a resident's wishes to die in peace rather than be subject to aggressive hospital intervention at the end of life. Read More » IT: The bridge between care and outcomes
How detailed and integrated are your clinical records? Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, Briarwood, N.Y., has spent the past few years creating an electronic health record (EHR) system that knows its residents almost as well as the staff does. Read More » The anatomy of a team
What does “cross-discipline team care” really mean? The 2015 OPTIMA Award winning site has created a model for reducing hospitalizations by involving every staffer—from physicians and nurses to the housekeeping staff—in the endeavor of quality care for an extremely high-acuity resident population. Read More » Illinois passes law allowing family video surveillance, monitoring in resident rooms
State lawmakers have made it legal for residents and their families to install their own “granny cams” and other recording devices in resident rooms to monitor care and other activities. Read More » 2015 OPTIMA Award: A breath for life
This year's OPTIMA Award winner, Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, Briarwood, N.Y., has slashed its hospitalizations despite having one of the highest acuity rates in its region. Long-Term Living's Pamela Tabar spent two days visiting the site and learning how the SNF is using collaborative care teams, customized electronic documentation and early-intervention tools to keep its unique resident population out of the hospital. Read More » Pace steps down from Advancing Excellence, joins Alzheimer’s Association
One of long-term care's busiest advocates and policy influencers shifts leadership to the Alzheimer's Association. Read More » LeadingAge CAST updates EHR selection tools
The organization has added several new items to its free resources to help providers choose the best electronic health record technologies and best medication management tools for their needs. Read More » ALF gives student a room for a song
A Baltimore senior living community has found a way to support the arts and get free entertainment and music therapy at the same time. Read More » Researchers get one step closer to solving hereditary edema
The extreme tissue swelling caused by edema can aggravate many conditions, and scientists now think they’re discovered the genetic makeup of a new type of hereditary edema. Read More » FDA warns of errors with same-sounding drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns of prescribing errors among same-sounding drugs, including several that are used to treat conditions common among older adults. Read More » Some dementia drugs contribute to weight loss
A new study ties some of today’s most common dementia drugs to sharper weight loss and gastrointestinal complications. Read More » Senior mental health: Too many pills, not enough services?
Seniors seem to be getting plenty of mental health medications, like antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills. But a recent report shows that older adults are far less likely than younger adults to receive the supportive mental health services that often accompany a mental health diagnosis. Read More » Dementia spending priorities: care or cure?
How should the National Alzheimer’s Project Act spend its funding? A new survey shows that many consider long-term care resources, education, financial support for in-home care and respite care resources to be a more important use of the money than researching a cure. Read More » Brian Jurutka named new NIC president
The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) welcomes a new president with plenty of data analytics and strategic partnership skills. Read More » Happy birthday, Medicare & Medicaid
Happy birthday, Medicare and Medicaid—and can we say, you don’t look a day over 50. But, the healthcare world sure is different now, compared to when you were born. Read More » LeadingAge to study how person-centered care affects depression, dementia
Does person-centered care help residents with depression and/or dementia? LeadingAge is teaming up with the N.J.-based Francis E. Parker Memorial Home to study how person-centered care and the household model environment affect residents with these conditions. Read More » CMS, Rhode Island partner on new dual-eligible care model
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is partnering with the state of Rhode Island to try out a new model for providing person-centered care to Medicare/Medicaid dual enrollees. Read More » CMS: National health spending projections juggle expanded coverage, high-cost drugs
Overall national healthcare spending is expected to rise by modest amounts during the decade from 2014-2024, notes a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services budget report released today. Read More » Photo project captures the picture of joy
Residents at Avanti Senior Living are getting camera-ready for a new photography project about living life passionately in older years. Read More » Anthem to buy Cigna in $54B deal
Anthem’s purchase of Cigna constitutes the largest health insurance deal in history, but regulators will be watching closely for impacts on market competition. Read More » 