LED lighting overhaul led to 43 percent falls reduction, Harvard study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 12, 2022
Resident falls in two long-term care facilities dropped by 43% after the installation of a dynamic lighting program tuned to natural sleep and wake rhythms.
Eliminating residents’ chronic pain not a realistic goal: Aim for quality of life, experts tell...
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 24, 2021
Even the best, multimodal treatment strategies may be only 30% effective, say the authors of a new review and pain management guide.
COVID-19 vaccine booster jab has 96 percent efficacy, Pfizer reveals
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 22, 2021
A third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine restores protection against the disease to levels achieved after the second dose, a large new trial shows.
CDC: Turn to Paxlovid to treat COVID-19, not steroids or antibiotics
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
Apr 26, 2022
The agency is urging clinicians to consider the now readily available, recommended therapies such as Paxlovid as first-line COVID-19 treatments.
Stable use of antipsychotics in long-term care during pandemic ‘reassuring’: study
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Mar 07, 2022
The use of antipsychotics and pain medications in assisted living and nursing home residents was relatively unchanged early in the pandemic. New residents were more likely to get certain drugs, however.
Private equity equates to poorer outcomes for nursing home residents, physician contends
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 21, 2021
For-profit nursing homes have put residents at higher risk of death during the pandemic and are a poor deal for elders overall, according to a cardiologist and researcher.
CDC: LTC residents account for many omicron hospitalizations among the vaccinated
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 12, 2022
Long-term care facility residents continue to face greater risks from COVID-19 than the general public, even when they’ve been vaccinated, new data show.
Questions on monkeypox in LTC? This doc has answers.
Aug 11, 2022
Monkeypox “will likely spread beyond the demographic in which it is currently most concentrated, and facilities need to be prepared to handle exposed or even infected patients,” an expert tells...
COVID vaccine protection drops by 80 percent in 6 months among nursing home residents: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 03, 2021
Vaccinated staff members had a similar six-month decrease in immunity levels, investigators say. The data may support recommendations for vaccine booster shots, they contend.
Q&A: Clinical best practices when gauging residents’ end-of-life preferences — a POLST expert weighs...
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 29, 2021
There’s a clear need to improve the quality of Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, or POLST, in nursing homes, says Susan E. Hickman, Ph.D. An expert on the subject, she spoke with...