States need to step up with nurse aide waiver clearer, providers say
By
Kimberly Marselas
Aug 31, 2022
The formal extension of a waiver program that relaxes certification requirements for some nurse aides was widely embraced by providers a day after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced...
Parkinson: Vaccinate all long-term care by March and slash coronavirus mortality 40 percent
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 08, 2020
A one-month delay “could result in more than 20,000 of our residents losing their lives when a vaccine could have saved them,” AHCA / NCAL leader Mark Parkinson said Monday.
Senior living community logs 21 breakthrough cases after being COVID-free for 15 months
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
May 25, 2021
Riverview Retirement Community in Spokane, WA, has a 98% COVID vaccination rate among residents, but an outbreak has occurred among the vaccinated. Despite varied symptoms, cases so far have not been severe,...
Physicians propose new way to manage a COVID outbreak in long-term care settings
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 15, 2021
A 200-bed nursing home in Chicago was the recipient of an enhanced clinical management approach that contributed to relatively low mortality rates during an outbreak among high-risk residents, the doctors...
Be present to listen
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 06, 2021
I think one of the greatest tools in our customer service toolbelt is just taking the time to be present and listen to our customers. Whether that customer is our coworker, our resident, patient, family...
Coronavirus rates drop 96% in nursing homes, but some see first-ever cases in new year
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 31, 2021
More than 430 nursing homes saw their first-ever COVID cases in early 2021, evidence that continued infection control measures are needed, and despite phenomenal declines in facility rates, says the U.S....
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.
When celebrity obscures suffering
By
Brendan Williams
Sep 10, 2021
There is a poignant scene in the first episode of Spike Lee’s “NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½” on HBO in which New York Assembly Member Ron Kim breaks down recounting the efforts of former Governor Andrew...
Don’t shelve rapid tests as COVID cases climb, advocates implore nursing homes
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 03, 2020
Industry advocates say it’s time for facility operators who have not made full use of rapid antigen tests to start doing so — before nursing home deaths begin to spike again. CMS must “take to...
LTC, community pharmacies vie for role in federal COVID vaccine initiative
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 23, 2020
Nursing home and assisted living operators should talk with their existing pharmacy provider about their capability to participate in the federal government’s new COVID-19 vaccine delivery program,...