Facilities need to take action to make headway against Clostridium difficile infection, according to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. New research provides additional insights into the intestinal superbug. Read More »
The increasing use of electrical equipment in areas where patients/residents receive treatment has increased the need for more electrical outlets to accommodate the appliances/devices. Read More »
The following account illustrates the importance of screening before hiring. Bad employees can ruin a facility’s reputation and a resident’s quality of life. Read More »
Benchmark Senior Living, the winner of the 2014 Long-Term Living OPTIMA Award, uses set routines in the morning to get its memory care residents off to a good start each day. Read More »
The American Physical Therapy Association, as part of the Choosing Wisely campaign, has released a list of five practices it says are of questionable value to those undergoing physical therapy. Read More »
Coaching residents who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on three coping techniques can boost their quality of life and can even improve physical symptoms, new research has found. And technology can make the approach relatively low-cost. Read More »
Coverage of Long-Term Living's 2014 OPTIMA Award winner—including the main article, companion articles, photos, video and a blog—are gathered here for your convenience. Read More »
Unlike their grandparents, many of today's seniors keep their teeth well into their advanced years. Caring for their dental issues requires dentists to have an understanding of how to deliver optimum oral care to this demographic. Read More »
Keeping reading skills honed helps those with dementia stay focused throughout the day. Benchmark Senior Living, the 2014 winner of Long-Term Living's OPTIMA Award, uses hundreds of reading booklets to keep residents' minds engaged in learning new things. Read More »
Social interactions, exercise, music, dance, jokes and foods all can have a lasting emotional effect on quality of life and subjective well-being for residents with dementia, new research confirms. Read More »
To complete the readmission puzzle, post-acute care providers should look at three not-so-obvious missing puzzle pieces that go beyond the readmission metric. Read More »
Certain adults are more vulnerable than others, and vaccination rates vary by gender and geography. See what you can do, and find out what this year's vaccine covers. Read More »
Benchmark Senior Living, the 2014 winner of Long-Tem Living's OPTIMA Award, uses six dimensions of engagement in its memory care program to stimulate different parts of the brain and keep residents with dementia involved and focused. Read More »
This year’s winner of the Long-Term Living OPTIMA Award, Benchmark Senior Living, has taken dementia care programming far beyond reminiscing, brain-games and once-a-day-activities. Here's the story of how its award-winning programming got started, and how the lives of residents can be changed when engagement happens all day long instead of just during "activity hour." Read More »
Watching television programs on a big-screen TV gives residents an opportunity to share and socialize. But what happens when the set goes on the blink? Read More »
The majority of the professional associations representing long-term care say they support the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care’s goal of continuing to reduce the off-label use of antipsychotic medications in long-stay nursing home residents, although some say more action is needed. Read More »
Following advice from the CDC, you'll want to ensure that older residents and employees are vaccinated against pneumonia at the same time that they receive the flu shot. The government now recommends two pneumonia vaccines over the course of most people's lives. Read More »
Flu vaccination among healthcare personnel is lowest among those working in long-term care settings, but employers can take two actions to encourage it, according to new data from the CDC. Read More »
They never drove Model Ts, but today’s seniors did grow up on Mustangs, Corvettes and Camaros. Because of the boomers’ willingness to embrace new motoring experiences, hybrid automobiles have found a niche in the senior sector. Read More »
The building crisis in financing and providing effective long-term care services and supports is an ever-growing problem as discussed in a report by the Commission on Long-Term Care. Read More »
You'll want to share with female residents this new evidence-based clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians, and it may affect the way you care for those with urinary incontinence. Read More »
While two pneumonia vaccines are recommended to seniors for optimal protection, will cost/coverage discourage them from receiving the second vaccine? Read More »
Living on a budget is hard for anyone. It takes discipline. Imagine if you had less than $100 a month to meet your needs, let alone your wants. Read More »
Long-term care organizations would be wise to reevaluate their dining programs to satisfy the adventurous and sophisticated palates of the new senior population. One noted chef shares his philosophy and vision of wedding good nutrition with high-end culinary options. Read More »
Prioritizing comfort in the care of residents with advanced dementia enabled one nursing home to reap many rewards for residents and their families, the community and staff members. Its innovative model was detailed in a Sept. 8 workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine. Read More »
