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...
Two new drugs show promise for hard-to-treat breast, prostate cancers
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 07, 2021
Cancer drug Lynparza (olaparib) reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death in certain aggressive breast cancers by 42% after surgery, while a new prostate cancer treatment improved survival by tracking...
CMS: Lower COVID rates linked to higher nursing home quality ratings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 02, 2021
Higher facility star ratings are tied to lower COVID transmission rates and fewer deaths, according to the agency’s chief medical officer and director of its Center for Clinical Standards and Quality.
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...
An analysis of more than 7,000 IPC surveys finds that nursing homes have made “substantial” progress in taking up core elements of antibiotic stewardship as recommended by the agency.
Clinical briefs for Thursday, May 27
By
Alicia Lasek
May 27, 2021
Hawaii’s LTC facilities beat mainland trends with 84% staff vaccination rate … Texas governor signs bill that publicizes nursing home and assisted living disease outbreak data… COVID vaccine increases...
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...
Elders’ mental distress rose during COVID surges, U.S. Census Bureau finds
By
Alicia Lasek
May 05, 2021
Psychiatric drug use and mental health counseling rose alongside COVID case counts, according to a CDC / Census Bureau survey analysis.
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...
CDC: COVID vaccines safe during pregnancy, allaying a top concern of nursing home workers
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 28, 2021
Pregnancy concerns are cited as one of the top reasons for vaccine hesitancy among long-term care workers, but there were no obvious signs of third trimester adverse events among pregnant women who received...