Federal ‘all or none’ sepsis policy a wash in multi-hospital study
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 20, 2021
SEP-1 requirements meant to combat staggering sepsis rates in the U.S. did not lead to clinically meaningful patient outcomes in 11 UPMC hospitals, physician-scientists say.
While FDA moves to halt mask reuse, N95 access remains spotty, report finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 15, 2021
A new push to ensure that healthcare facilities stockpile single-use or reusable N95 respirators has arrived while some workers continue to lack access to the equipment and U.S. mask manufacturers can’t...
LTC vaccinators opt to briefly halt J&J shots while awaiting FDA guidance
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 14, 2021
Long-term care pharmacies and clinicians have temporarily paused their use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine following recommendations from health officials. Guidance is needed quickly in order to...
Gaming platform play improves function in residents with severe dementia: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 14, 2021
Nursing home residents with severe dementia had significant cognitive and physical skill improvement after training regularly with fitness software that increased motivation, researchers say.
An antibody cocktail that halts disease progression in sick COVD-19 patients has been shown to prevent the disease altogether in healthy people who live in close contact with an infected person, the drugmaker...
Google vets health record tool for patients; Microsoft bets on healthcare AI
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 13, 2021
Google is recruiting Android users to see how they prefer to interact with their own health data, and Microsoft is working to develop software that transcribes patient-doctor conversations directly into...
Pandemic paves way for mobile dentistry, teledentistry in long-term care, experts say
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 12, 2021
Mobile dentistry for people with dementia, teledentistry, and vaccines by dentist are some of the opportunities that have arisen from disruptions to residents’ oral healthcare during the pandemic, according...
LTC residents have detectable antibodies 6 months after COVID vaccination
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 12, 2021
All residents tested in University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Senior Communities were found to have antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after full vaccination. The findings are “cautious good news,”...
Untracked COVID: Nursing home workers have died at twice the rate of hospital workers
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 09, 2021
Nursing home care providers have the sad distinction of accounting for a large proportion of healthcare workers’ COVID deaths, according to new 2020 data that was not tracked by the U.S. government....
Tracing cases: How one bar gathering led to a nursing home resident’s COVID hospitalization
By
Alicia Lasek
Apr 07, 2021
A new report on contact tracing in rural Illinois illustrates how a single community gathering can lead directly to infections in a skilled nursing facility, and the challenges associated with reopening...