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...
Healthcare’s dirty secret
By
Elizabeth Newman
Nov 20, 2012
If there’s one topic where I feel that healthcare publications tend to repeat themselves, it’s around infection control.
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...
The call for action to prevent norovirus
By
Martie Moore
Sep 17, 2014
It all started with a gathering. My family had lost a loved one. Some of us flew, others drove but whatever it took, we came together to celebrate the life of our loved one. Within 48 hours after the service,...
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...
New cases of antifungal-resistant yeast infections in nursing homes alarm CDC
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 26, 2021
For the first time, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has identified U.S. nursing home residents and hospital patients with candida auris yeast infections that resist all first-line antifungal...