Nursing Home
Preparedness is key
May 18, 2015There are numerous resources available on the Internet to help you choose the right nursing home for an ailing parent or loved one.
Coroner opens probe in nursing home death
March 19, 2015A coroner's inquiry has been opened following the death of an 85-year-old resident of a southeast suburban St. Louis nursing home. The woman was reportedly discovered deceased early on March 12, strapped to a wheelchair at the bottom of a flight of stairs
PA facility tries crowd-funding to replace TVs
February 20, 2015A Pennsylvania nursing home recently tapped the growing crowd-funding craze to raise money to help its residents upgrade their dated televisions.
Report slams nursing home sex abuse probes
February 11, 2015A television station's investigative team asserted Monday that nursing home sexual abuse incidents in Texas are not thoroughly investigated, and that state officials may not be doing enough to protect victims.
9 things NOT to expect in a nursing home
December 17, 2014Family members need to know what to expect when their loved one enters a nursing home: Falls may happen, medications may change, and a private room may not be an option.
Resident on resident mistreatment is an urgent problem, researchers say
November 07, 2014About 20% of nursing home residents experience mistreatment from a fellow resident in a given month, according to findings announced Thursday by Weill Cornell Medical College and Cornell University.
Republicans gain Senate control; McConnell puts ACA provisions in crosshairs
November 06, 2014Congress will try to dismantle some parts of the Affordable Care Act now that the Republican Party has the majority of seats in both chambers, prospective Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Wednesday.
Expanded surveys will focus on staffing, MDS coding
November 04, 2014Special surveys to determine Minimum Data Set coding accuracy and nursing home staffing levels will occur nationwide in 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in an Oct. 31 memorandum. A five-state pilot of the focused surveys concluded in August, and there were deficiencies reported on 24 out of 25, according to CMS.
Also in the news for Nov. 4, 2014 . . .
November 04, 2014Health center owner fined $43 million in nursing home patient recruiting scam ... CMS defines "one-on-one" provider training ... Men shorter than five-foot-five are 50% more likely to die from dementia ... UK docs to begin telling patients their 'brain age'
Also in the news for Nov. 3, 2014 . . .
November 03, 2014$37 million settlement makes Dignity the latest large hospital system to pay out for observation stay charges ... Vibrating insoles could reduce falls among seniors ... Audit shows 11,000 unresolved nursing home complaints in CA
Ask the legal expert ... how to avoid deadbeat families
November 01, 2014What's the best way to prevent deadbeat families?
Adjust residents' hearing aids before they listen to music, researcher advises
October 30, 2014Nursing home residents might get more enjoyment and therapeutic value out of music if they change hearing aid settings, recently published findings suggest.
Proposed managed care rule could accelerate shift away from nursing home care, official suggests
October 30, 2014Proposed regulations slated for early 2015 likely will affect how Medicaid managed care balances home- versus facility-based long-term care, news sources reported Wednesday.
Protein wafers help nursing home residents gain weight, fight pressure ulcers and diarrhea
October 29, 2014Easy-to-chew protein wafers can help nursing home residents gain weight and reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers and diarrhea, according to findings recently published in Age and Ageing.
New hospice comparison tool uses government info, Washington Post calls for more transparency
October 28, 2014In the absence of a hospice consumer guide from the government, The Washington Post has created one using available Medicare data. The newspaper unveiled the quality tool Sunday, in an article criticizing a lack of transparency around hospice quality.
Judge approves $38 million settlement in ManorCare case
October 27, 2014HCR ManorCare will pay $38 million under a legal settlement recently approved by a judge in West Virginia. The award to plaintiffs was originally $91 million until the state Supreme Court reduced it in June.
Test could confirm sepsis within an hour
October 24, 2014Nursing home residents might benefit from a new way of diagnosing and treating sepsis made possible by discoveries out of the University of British Columbia.
Nursing home asked for employee's personal information too often, jury rules
October 24, 2014The human resources department of a Maine nursing home did not properly protect a former employee's personal identification information, a jury recently ruled.
Subliminal messages: A basic part of nursing home care?
October 21, 2014"Will your app deliver subliminal messages to my residents?" I did not hear that question yesterday while I wandered the expo hall at the annual LeadingAge conference. But perhaps I will next year.
Former office manager charged with embezzling half a million dollars from residents
October 20, 2014The former business office manager of a Michigan nursing home has been charged with embezzling more than $460,000 from the resident trust fund, the state's attorney general announced last Thursday.
Nursing home workers told not to touch residents due to Ebola concerns
October 20, 2014U.S. nursing home workers who hail from West Africa are being stigmatized as potential Ebola carriers and forbidden from touching residents, according to IRIN, an independent news service launched by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Hospice expansion decreases hospital readmissions among all nursing home residents, study shows
October 15, 2014Increasing hospice services can reduce hospital admissions among all residents of a nursing home, including those not enrolled in hospice, according to findings recently published in JAMDA.
Also in the news for Oct. 15, 2014 . . .
October 15, 2014Home health aides launch nationwide campaign for higher wages ... White House launches Conference on Aging website ... Structured resident interviews increase quality of life in the nursing home, Pitt researchers find
NIC: Senior housing sets record for absorption, nursing home occupancy flat
October 14, 2014The average occupancy rate for senior housing sailed past 90% in the third quarter, and the absorption rate set a single-quarter record, the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care announced Friday.
Former nursing home worker charged with 'terrorism hoax' for beheading threat
October 06, 2014A former nursing home worker in Oklahoma might only have been joking when he threatened to behead a colleague, but he still could spend 10 years in prison if convicted on "terrorism hoax" charges, according to local reports.
Spreading too thin?
October 01, 2014Lenders encourage facility operators to think twice before pursing alternative models of care; 'jack-of-all-trades' a challenging label to embrace
Verify payroll totals for rankings: letter
October 01, 2014Federal regulators need to collect nursing home staffing data directly from payroll systems rather than from providers themselves, members of the Congressional Seniors Task Force said in a recent letter to a top healthcare official.
OK nursing home worker threatened to behead colleague in a terrorist act, authorities say
September 30, 2014Police in Oklahoma City have arrested a nursing home worker who allegedly threatened to behead another staff member out of solidarity with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to news sources.
Senators push CMS to expand program for long-term care outside nursing homes
September 26, 2014The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should loosen regulations to allow more people to receive care in the community rather than in nursing homes, a bipartisan group of Senators wrote in a recent letter to the top CMS official.
Also in the news for Sept. 26, 2014 ...
September 26, 2014New tool for managing dementia-related behaviors ... UCLA paper emphasizes need to educate family members on risks of 'turning' fractures in nursing home residents ... 80% of healthy seniors with memory lapses develop dementia within a 12 years
