The New Wave of Foodservice Technology in Senior Care

Michigan LTC facilities aren’t prepared to care for LGBT residents

A recent survey has found a considerable lack of awareness and sensitivity for older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in long-term care. Read More »

Joint Commission launches falls prevention analytics tool

The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare has a new tool that has helped many hospitals lower their falls rates by one-third. Can its methodology help your long-term care facility do the same for one of Medicare's "never events"? Read More »

RehabCare to pay $125M in fraud settlement

National therapy giant RehabCare is back in trouble again, this time agreeing to pay $125 million to settle false billing claims. Read More »

Antipsychotics, behavior and dementia: A psychiatrist’s view

Treating elderly residents—especially those with dementia—with antipsychotics requires a careful balance between medication and behavioral treatments. Read More »

Complaints about 11 Mass. nursing homes

Resident blogger Kathleen Mears discusses some shady practices at several Massachusetts nursing homes and wonders why the sites didn't require more background checks. Read More »

A diet you’ll want to follow

A new diet designed to lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease has far reaching benefits and has been ranked by US News & World Report as surprisingly easy to follow. Researchers reported significant benefits for those who made modest changes and, as an added bonus, the diet recommends drinking wine. Read More »

Calif group splits from Alzheimer’s Association

Following the fall 2015 restructuring of the national Alzheimer's Association, the Los Angeles chapter has decided to leave the national group and form its own association. Read More »

Activities are more than time fillers

An Activities Department does more than organize bingo games. The department helps residents maintain cognitive function and gives them a sense of independence and dignity. That deserves every department's respect. Read More »

365 days of residents and staff

A Maryland retirement community featured a photo and words to live by from a resident or staff member each day in 2015 in the vein of popular blog Humans of New York. Read More »

Lumosity to pay $2 million to settle disputes about brain training claims

Lumos Labs, the makers of the Lumosity brain training program, have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission on allegations the company deceived consumers with unfounded claims about cognitive and health benefits from playing its online and mobile games. Read More »

Employee benefits: The personal touch

Are economic pressures and changing rules under the Affordable Care Act forcing you to pare down your employee benefits offering? Incorporating voluntary benefits can keep employees happy by allowing them to add on customized benefits. Read More »

LeadingAge names new board chair

Kathryn Roberts will serve as the chair for the board of directors for LeadingAge. Read More »

2016 Leaders of Tomorrow nominations are open!

Do you know a caregiver, administrator, trainer or other leader who is super-passionate about improving quality care and professional care delivery to our older adults? Long-Term Living’s Leaders of Tomorrow award program is looking for senior care leaders who go above and beyond just "doing a good job." Read More »

Best perioperative practices for geriatric surgical patients released

New recommendations for the delivery of quality care for geriatric surgical patients were released today by the American College of Surgeons and American Geriatrics Society. Read More »

More therapy leads to slightly better outcomes, study finds

Researchers found an extra hour of therapy for seniors recovering from hip fractures in Skilled Nursing Facilities saw improved outcomes, though seniors with the highest levels of impairment saw no benefit. Read More »

New bill aims to eliminate manual lifting

Many in the long-term care industry applaud the proposed legislation to require assistive devices in all lifting cases, but no one is sure how compliance will be enforced—or who's going to pay for all the equipment. Read More »

Health IT consultancy continues growth through acquisition

VeritechIT, one of the fastest growing healthcare IT network consultancies in America, has acquired Software Logic, a Microsoft platform provider. Read More »

Poor sleep could be an Alzheimer’s disease risk factor

Deep sleep means a deep cleanse of brain toxins, including those that form Alzheimer's plaques. Researchers found a lack of sleep sped the accumulation of Alzheimer's disease plaques in mice, suggesting a possible link and potential new treatments that start with catching some zzz's. Read More »

A healthy attitude toward aging might keep you healthier

Researchers have found a correlation between negative views on aging and developing Alzheimer's disease. People who held negative views of aging were found to have greatest volume loss of the hippocampus, a part of the brain central to memory. They were also found to have a significantly greater number of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles than their peers with a positive outlook on aging. Read More »

Shifting views on exercise for osteoarthritis

Most recommendations for osteoarthritis tend to favor low-impact exercise, but some research indicates that if the osteoarthritis is mild, a little bit of higher impact exercise might do a lot more good. Read More »

Finding a haven

New residents can struggle to combat their fears and find a way to feel useful, but everyone can help them adjust, says resident blogger Kathleen Mears. Read More »

CMS, ONC seek feedback on clinical data gathering

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT are requesting input from providers across the healthcare continuum on the challenges of gathering clinical measures data. Read More »

Rock star goes abroad for Alzheimer’s stem cell treatment

Canadian music icon John Mann has early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and medications on the market haven't been effective. He will go to Mexico for experimental stem cell therapy. Read More »

Antidepressant restores protein levels in brain, improves memory

New research suggests accumulation of the tau protein hinders the brain's ability to clean out and replace cells. A drug already on the market was found to help flush out old cells and improve memory in mice, suggesting new therapies  for neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Read More »

Long-Term Living’s Top 10 news stories for 2015

A major change in CMS' five-star nursing home rating system, a promising new treatment for Lewy Body dementia and the biggest Medicare fraud bust to date were among this year's most popular news stories. Read More »

Elderly more likely to suffer severe case of norovirus

A multi-year study of norovirus outbreaks at long-term care facilities found seniors are more prone to contracting the virus, suffer severe outbreaks and shed the virus for at least three weeks. People usually get better within one to three days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More »

Data-driven decisions

Technology tools to analyze outcomes and measure performance will take a front seat in 2016, as more acute care and long-term care providers turn to data analytics to maximize reimbursement and prove quality measures. Read More »

Nationwide tests new LTC + life insurance model

A national insurance company has added a new hybrid policy for the “sandwich” generation: A life insurance policy with a long-term care rider that can provide survivorship benefits for an elderly parent rather than a spouse. Read More »

A holiday tradition ends

Resident blogger Kathleen Mears talks turkey and how budget-strapped nursing homes might want to think local at the holidays. Read More »

Families are growing closer (or at least not moving far apart)

Holiday songs conjure images about family togetherness, but they often express themes of geographic distance. Those songs aren’t an accurate picture of American families. Read More »