Clinical

Medication errors: Prescriptions for safety

Diligent strategies to avoid medication errors can improve resident care and reduce business risk. Read More »

6 ways you can ensure senior safety on the roads

During Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, the American Occupational Therapy Association shares tips for those helping seniors prepare for comprehensive driving evaluations. Read More »

Bloodstream infections addressed in Joint Commission toolkit

New resources released by the Joint Commission and sister organizations aim to educate healthcare professionals about ways to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections, or CLABSIs. Read More »

New medication management guideline focuses on long-term care settings

Experts have updated an existing medication management guideline to make it specific to the long-term care environment, with information of use to nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, physicians and physician assistants who are part of interdisciplinary teams taking care of residents. Read More »

Palliative care conversations crucial to ensuring choices

Avoiding discussions about prognosis and care goals may deny patients what they need to make informed choices. But what happens when the people skirting the conversation are the clinicians? Read More »

Hand hygiene gets special attention this week

Those working in long-term care settings should be sure to practice hand hygiene at four key times, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This week is National Handwashing Awareness Week. Read More »

Pressure ulcer prevention program uses new patient monitor

Wireless patient monitoring technology serves as the centerpiece for a pressure ulcer prevention program.  Read More »

Task force names 5 high-priority areas for senior health

Not enough evidence exists to recommend routine screening in those not showing signs or symptoms of cognitive impairment, says the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in a draft recommendation. The group also has released a list of five areas in senior health that it believes deserve more research. Read More »

Seniors lacking in communication of end-of-life wishes: survey

Many older Americans have not thought of or shared their wishes regarding how they want to be treated medically at the end of their lives, according to a new survey. Read More »

Interdisciplinary field looks at aging as a risk factor for chronic disease

The emerging interdisciplinary field of geroscience maintains that aging itself is the major risk factor for most chronic diseases prevalent in the older population. Learn more. Read More »

It’s never too late to quit

A new study offers updated evidence on reducing the recovery time for seniors from the effects of smoking. Read More »

Songs of the soul

Personalized music therapy programs reach into the silent corridors where those with dementia dwell. Read More »

New model indicates when memory loss is Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers may have found a way for you to let residents know whether to relax or take other action. Read More »

Eye doctor may diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in the future

The eye holds clues to Alzheimer’s disease, according to one study. Another study, however, finds no association between a common age-related eye disease and dementia. Read More »

Fighting diabetes in the workplace and at home

Preventing or managing diabetes can mean lower health insurance and other personnel-related costs for employers as well as healthier employees and residents. Here are some tips to help combat the disease, in observance of National Diabetes Month and World Diabetes Day. Read More »

New research, guidelines affect care of overweight and obese seniors

Three new studies and a new guideline on obesity and health from a government-convened panel have implications for medical, nursing, nutrition and activities personnel in long-term care environments. Read More »

Two-hour turns may no longer be the standard, study finds

For more than 50 years, caregivers turned nursing home residents every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers. Do improved mattress manufacturing methods extend the time between turns? Read More »

4 factors linked to heart failure death

Many deaths from congestive heart failure might be prevented if healthcare professionals look for four risk factors, according to new research. Read More »

Long-term care-related comedy to air on HBO

You may see some familiar faces on Nov. 24 when HBO debuts a comedy about a “ragtag crew” caring for elderly women at a hospital’s extended care unit. Read More »

One medical visit reveals much about Alzheimer’s progression: study

One medical visit is all it takes to gather enough data to predict how long it will be before someone with Alzheimer’s disease needs professional long-term care or dies, according to new research. Read More »

Nine nursing home employees die at work in 2012, data show

The injuries and illnesses might not be dramatic, but government data show that nursing homes are dangerous places to work. Read More »

IRS increases tax deductions for LTC insurance

If you or those for whom you care are concerned about how to pay for long-term care, you may be interested to learn that the Internal Revenue Service has increased the tax deductions allowed for the purchase of long-term care insurance policies in 2014. Read More »

Dental, heart health linked in study

A new study provides another reason to promote brushing and flossing among residents. Read More »

Johnson & Johnson to pay $2.2 billion to resolve off-label marketing and kickback allegations

In what the federal government maintains is one of the largest healthcare fraud settlements in U.S. history, Johnson & Johnson and subsidiaries will pay more than $2.2 billion for allegedly promoting three drugs for unapproved uses in the elderly and others as well as purportedly paying kickbacks to doctors and the country’s biggest long-term care pharmacy provider. Read More »

Litigation on the rise for LTC industry

This society’s eagerness to seek legal action against perceived harm or injustice to their loved ones in long-term care gives plaintiffs’ lawyers a wide-open client base to pursue. Read More »

Hospitalization reduction is aim of nursing home resident study

A $13.4 million initiative funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hopes to improve care and communication within nursing facilities and between nursing homes and acute care institutions so that problems can be caught and managed before it becomes necessary to transport residents to the hospital. Read More »

Getting weighed

Monitoring residents’ weights essential in providing quality care. At times, however, the process can present challenges to doing it accurately, comfortably and privately. Read More »

Injuries from falls lessened by exercise: study

Want to reduce injuries from falls in seniors? Encourage them to participate in balance-related exercise programs, a new study suggests. Read More »

MRSA levels in SNFs may be higher than assumed

A new study of nursing home residents in California indicates that there's much more community-acquired MRSA in LTC settings than medical professionals first thought. Read More »

Don’t let time change wreak havoc on health

As the end of daylight saving time approaches in most parts of the United States, here are some tips to keep you—and residents—healthy and alert in the coming weeks. Read More »