Coordinate locally to lower COVID-19 burden, facility study suggests
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 13, 2020
Three Michigan nursing homes worked hand-in-hand with local referral hospitals and labs to successfully contain facility COVID-19 outbreaks.
At least 26 barriers impede seniors’ advance care planning, researchers find
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 02, 2021
Fully 91% of participants responded that they had at least one barrier to initiating advance care planning. When compared with their peers who reported none, these study participants were more likely to...
Frail seniors good candidates for health technology training and support, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 06, 2020
When they do use the internet, frail seniors are more likely to gain health information and advice, according to investigators. This may explain why some of these elders have adapted to virtual care during...
Silver lining? Surgical and N95 masks ease spring allergies in nurse study
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 12, 2021
Nurses who recorded allergic rhinitis symptoms during a two-week period in the pandemic reported significantly decreased symptoms while wearing an N95 or surgical face mask vs. wearing no mask.
CDC may be overestimating COVID-19 vaccination stats for older adults, state officials and experts say
By
Alicia Lasek
Dec 13, 2021
The agency’s online tracker currently shows that 99.9% of U.S. seniors have been at least partly vaccinated against COVID-19. But this sky-high figure is almost certainly not accurate, observers...
Thanksgiving comfort: Phone calls, emails work best to reduce residents’ loneliness, boost spirits
By
Alicia Lasek
Nov 24, 2020
According to the Yale School of Public Health, regular phone calls or emails may provide the most solace for people living in long-term care facilities. This includes remote calls, and phone calls while...
Socially isolated elderly more prone to hospital, emergency department admission
By
Alicia Lasek
Aug 28, 2020
A lack of social support may lead to poor health and reliance on emergency departments as a source of referrals to non-emergent care, researchers say.
Seniors who use video chat less likely to report symptoms of depression
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 07, 2020
Seniors who communicated via video chat were about half as likely to report depressive symptoms than those who did not, say researchers.
Resident hospital transfer forms: The 5 most useful pieces of information
By
Alicia Lasek
May 12, 2021
The creators of a new automated hospital transfer form say they have identified the five must-have pieces of information needed to reduce clinical complications when nursing home residents are brought...
Nurses union to FDA: Mask decontamination never should have been OK’d
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 29, 2021
The reuse of N95 respirators and other single-use PPE is unsafe, according to the lead hygienist of National Nurses United. The union is heartened by President Joe Biden’s promise to use the Defense...