Juniper CEO: Restoring ‘new normal’ in senior living is about COVID lessons learned
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Aug 03, 2020
Juniper Communities created an early COVID-19 battle plan using cohorting and universal testing. Today the majority of its communities are testing 100% negative for the virus, says founder and CEO Lynne...
Quit treating pandemic’s toll on nursing homes like a ‘bad apples’ problem, expert...
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 14, 2020
It’s time for the federal government to “own” the problem of containing COVID-19 by paying for and arranging testing across nursing facilities, long-term care policy expert David Grabowski...
Safety means ‘seeing the virus’: Atria recounts rollout of 18,000 tests early in pandemic
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 09, 2021
Finding a way to conduct COVID-19 testing among 31,000 residents and staff members across multiple states helped the senior living giant to “seal out” outbreaks and show that its communities were safe...
CMS opens visitation to nursing homes after year of isolation
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 11, 2021
“Facilities should allow responsible indoor visitation at all times” — no matter the vaccination status of resident or visitor, the agency now says. Its action follows the remarkable, apparent...
CMS test protocol misses too many asymptomatic workers: statewide COVID study
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 04, 2020
If the goal is to identify all asymptomatic nursing home staff, comprehensive repeat testing may be needed regardless of COVID positivity rates in the community, investigators told McKnight’s.
The COVID-19 mitigation strategies of social distancing, face coverings and handwashing not only will help to curb the spread of the coronavirus, they will help to lessen the severity of the upcoming flu...
Pandemic has eroded patient safety gains, researchers argue
By
Amy Novotney
Feb 17, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly degraded the strides made over the last two decades in improving patient safety, particularly in long-term care, according to CMS and the CDC. In response, APIC has...
Vaccinations tied to drop in nursing home infections; states want greater role in pharmacy allocations
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 17, 2021
Nursing homes experienced a 48% decline in new resident cases three weeks after their first onsite vaccine clinic. That’s compared with a 21% decline among unvaccinated nursing homes located in the...
Laundry practices often overlooked in infection control, accreditor says
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 09, 2020
Laundry practices deserve a bigger role in COVID-19 prevention strategies for nursing homes and senior living communities, experts warn.
APIC urges LTC industry to boost infection control capabilities with full-time, certified staff
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 09, 2022
With the lessons of the pandemic fresh in mind, now is the time for LTC administrators to commit to recruiting and training dedicated, on-site infection preventionists, experts say. Sources of federal...