OSHA’s program, a National Emphasis Program, is aimed at reducing workplace injuries specifically in long-term care, and will cover nursing homes, residential mental retardation facilities and continuing care retirement communities. Read More »
As patients transfer from one point of care to another, medications that travel with them need to be reconciled for appropriateness and safety at the new care setting. Should those medications be restarted as the patient transfers to a skilled nursing facility? Read More »
In accordance with codes and regulations, nursing homes and assisted living communities are required to provide a sufficient number of fire extinguishers throughout each building. Additionally, employees of these types of occupancies are required to know how to properly use fire extinguishers. Read More »
Watch your step! At any age, falls can range from embarrasing to causing great pain. And nowhere is this hazard more apparent, or possibly deadly, when a elderly person takes a tumble. Read More »
When it is time for the walk-around tour, take the compliance officer where he or she needs to go and nowhere else. You may be proud of your facility and want to show it off, but that doesn’t mean they will see it in the same light as you. Read More »
For the new National Emphasis Program, OSHA will target LTC facilities with a days-away-from-work rate of 10 or higher per 100 full-time workers. Read More »
Will our codes and regulations inhibit or enable providers to meet the demands of an up and coming Baby Boomer generation of healthcare consumers? We may not have to wait long to find out. Read More »
A barn style doorway leaves just enough room for the medicine carts to pass through. The other side has a sliding glass window where residents can ask questions or use the telephone. Read More »
Scuffles are common here among residents. They sort of come in spurts of two or three. If a resident is loud and another resident does not like it, a slap for hit may be the result, especially when staff is not looking. Read More »
National safety and security experts say the lab’s presence in a nursing home is part of a larger trend involving the bizarre lengths meth addicts and dealers are willing to go for their drug. Read More »
Keeping pathways to survival clear is a disaster preparation that should be addressed every day. If everything is in its place and not blocking exits, evacuation is easier and more successful. Read More »
The Resident Safety Risk Assessment is intended to serve as a broad evaluation framework for the key design areas that impact resident safety in various residential care settings. Read More »
A recent series of unfortunate headlines, throughout both the United States and abroad, has shown the painful, and even deadly, results of resident aggression manifested into physical form. Read More »
Cocktail lounges and happy hours are becoming coming increasingly popular amenities in assisted living communities, but can ‘one for the road’ lead down a path of declining health? Read More »
Don’t panic. Be polite and respectful; remember this is an official visit. And please, for your sake, remember the old adage: ”If they ask you the time, tell them the time; don’t tell them how to build a watch.” Read More »
Officers attempted to communicate with the man, who had stabbed a female employee in the chest with a pen, but he was unresponsive to their requests and became confrontational. Read More »
It’s a bit staggering to think about how many residents, employees and families have had access to duplicate keys over the years to your facilities. Have you ever wondered where keys end up when someone claims they are lost? Read More »
From a safety and risk perspective, the kitchen provides us with an immediate opportunity to develop a workforce that is “cultured” to prevent potential hazards and losses. Deviation from procedures is usually when an incident occurs. Read More »
Gov. Quinn has boosted nursing home funding by millions of dollars to help carry out safety reforms passed in 2010. This is because the state won’t have to touch its own coffers to distribute the cash. Read More »
One of the ways to prevent falls is to know who your residents are and respond to them as individuals, discouraging behaviors that could lead to injury. Read More »
Preparedness and safety are not to be ignored. They determine how successfully an adverse event may be mitigated. And in long-term care communities, disaster training and drills are required. Read More »
Are your hard-surface floors making you—and your residents—sick? Brush up on these current best practices for cleanliness and maintenance with January's Focus On. Read More »
A Virginia facility provides care to a diverse population in a stigma-free atmosphere. Its ventilation therapy program is an attractive option for providing transitional care and encouraging ACO affiliation. Read More »
Gov. Branstad said the bill would force nursing homes and other facilities to inform staff, residents, residents’ families and the community when a registered sex offender is accepted into a facility. Read More »
Although this seems to be a quirky and light-hearted story, there are business and resident safety consequences associated with Santa Monica’s decision to ticket the Sunrise Senior Living van out of sight. Read More »
Throughout winter, it is essential for LTC facilities and senior housing properties to ensure that the area around heating equipment is free and clear of all combustible material. Read More »
On May 22, an EF-5 tornado carved its way through Joplin, Mo., striking the Greenbriar nursing home with a direct hit. Months later, the affected share their stories. Read More »
