COVID outbreaks tied to where nursing home staff live, researchers say
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 21, 2020
Where staff members call home is a “large and significant predictor” of which facilities in a given county will experience a COVID-19 outbreak, a Harvard study finds.
When it comes to COVID-19, family matters!
By
Nancy Anderson, RN, MA
Sep 18, 2020
Although your residents, patients and employees are top priority, we all know there is another important group that is trying to cope with the challenges of COVID-19 … the families of your residents...
Nursing homes face threats of citations, penalties if they restrict visitor access without good cause
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 18, 2020
Providers who fail to facilitate in-person visitations “without a reasonable clinical or safety cause” could be cited and face other penalties under new guidance issued Thursday by the Centers for...
Dementia mortality skyrockets since lockdowns; CMS loosens visitor restrictions
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 18, 2020
An excessive number of deaths due to dementia have occurred since shelter-in-place orders went into effect this spring, a new analysis finds. Meanwhile, CMS has proposed a framework for nursing homes...
BREAKING: CMS issues new guidance, opening up nursing home visitation
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 17, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued new guidance for visitation in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Caution urged for use of azithromycin as COVID treatment
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 17, 2020
When taken together with commonly prescribed drugs that affect the heart’s electrical impulses, azithromycin is linked with a 40% increase in cardiac events. These include fainting, heart palpitations...
Three virtual care components every senior care facility needs
By
AJ Peterson
Sep 16, 2020
As with any crisis, COVID-19 has exposed and widened existing cracks in the foundations of our nation’s healthcare infrastructure. This instability is particularly evident in senior care, given the extreme...
Provider faces $315K fine for failing to isolate residents, warn staff of COVID-19 outbreak
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 15, 2020
A Maryland provider may be forced to pay a $315,000 fine for Immediate Jeopardy violations after state health officials found that it did not properly isolate residents exposed to COVID-19.
Saliva-based antigen testing better than PCR nasal swab, researchers argue
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 15, 2020
Nursing home operators may have better luck using saliva-based, rapid antigen testing for screening COVID-19 within their facilities over polymerase chaise reaction (PRC) nasal swab because of the tool’s...
Testing expenses could reach $15,000 per week for large nursing homes: report
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 11, 2020
It could cost larger nursing homes up to $15,000 per week to comply with new COVID-19 testing requirements for staff members, according to a report released this week by LeadingAge.