A tuberculosis outbreak, affecting more than 600 individuals at one Delaware nursing home, recently put providers in an all-hands-on-deck situation. Public health officials said that exposure spread from one individual at ManorCare Health Services-Wilmington and occurred during a nine-month period starting in January 2017. In response, health officials quickly coordinated with neighboring agencies, since 35…
How can I encourage my nurses to confidently engage their critical thinking skills to ensure accurate assessments and optimal care for residents? Critical thinking was perfectly described by the late Richard Paul as “thinking about your thinking, while you are thinking, to make your thinking better.” As nurses, we often fail to think effectively and…
A federal judge dismissed a nearly three-year-old False Claims Act case against Trilogy Health Systems in May, but the legal travails for the provider aren’t over. The case placed former occupational therapist Amanda Davis against the healthcare system, which has more than 80 skilled nursing facilities in the Midwest. In a 37-page suit filed in…
The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against a family fighting an arbitration agreement with a nursing home, stating that 12-point type in all capital letters satisfied the law’s requirements. Though the family of Colorow Health Care resident Charlotte Fischer filed a wrongful death claim and argued the agreement was invalid due to lack of bold…
Working overtime may be linked to less collaboration between nurses and physicians, according to a study published in the Journal of Nursing Administration. Researchers at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing used survey data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (2013) to analyze responses from 24,013 nurses in 957 units from 168 U.S.…
Three floors of a Georgia hospital will be transformed into an 80-bed skilled nursing facility in a nearly $3 million plan approved by its board. The shift will allow University Hospital in Summerville to provide a continuum of care under one roof, while giving it leverage in a competitive market. The move also lets the…
A way to detect tiny changes in arthritic joints holds promise for effective treatments, University of Cambridge researchers say. A team that developed an algorithm to monitor the joints said X-rays don’t have enough sensitivity to detect subtle changes. The new technique, called joint space mapping, uses images from a CT scan with three dimensions.…
Staff employed in small-scale, homelike dementia living facilities have been shown to experience fewer physical demands, lower workload and more job autonomy compared with staff in regular wards, according to a study published in the Journal of Research in Nursing. Dutch researchers compared the effects on staff burnout symptoms and job characteristics, including job autonomy,…
There’s new leadership at the top of one leading long-term care consulting firm. Erin Shvetzoff Hennessey recently took the reins as chief executive of Health Dimensions Group, which is based in Minnetonka, MN. She replaces her father, Sergei Shvetzoff, who retired as CEO in May, though he’ll continue on as chairman of the board. It’s…
Skilled nursing property occupancy dropped to 81.6% at the end of the first quarter, according to a new National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care Skilled Nursing Data Report. It showed that the occupancy decreased 30 basis points from the prior quarter and was down 210 basis points year-over-year, including both urban and rural…
