‘Exceedingly difficult’ to control COVID inside facilities when virus rages outside, LTC experts...
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 22, 2021
Long-term care operators located in areas of high COVID-19 prevalence are hamstrung when it comes to keeping SARS-CoV-2 infections from infiltrating their facilities, the country’s top long-term care...
Docs miss — or opt to dismiss — signs of pulmonary embolism in dementia patients, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 22, 2021
Physicians appear to place lower importance on factors that may lead to diagnosis of pulmonary embolism when evaluating patients with dementia who present with shortness of breath, investigators say.
CMS unveils new tool for public to compare nursing home vaccination rates
By
Danielle Brown
Sep 21, 2021
Individual nursing homes’ COVID-19 vaccination rates are more subject to public comparisons thanks to a new tool from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The goal is to make previously available...
CDC: Lasting COVID-19 symptoms tied to age, sex, race factors
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 21, 2021
Investigators examined recovered COVID-19 patients in Long Beach California. Fully one third of participants reported having at least one symptom of post-acute sequelae, commonly called “long COVID-19,”...
Pandemic isolation has led to more falls among seniors, online survey finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 21, 2021
For some seniors, pandemic isolation has created a perfect storm of physical inactivity and deconditioning that has resulted in increased falls risk and greater fear of falling, researchers say.
CDC to fund LTC infection control strike teams nationwide starting in October
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 20, 2021
The initiative will allow states and other U.S. jurisdictions to “staff, train and deploy” strike teams to help long-term care operations with known or suspected COVID-19 infections, CDC says.
Nursing homes, feds hide sky-high antipsychotic use with dubious diagnoses: report
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 20, 2021
At least one-fifth of nursing home residents are taking the drugs, many for schizophrenia, a diagnosis that has skyrocketed in these settings since 2012, a new investigation finds.
Clinical briefs for Monday, Sept. 20
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 20, 2021
CNAs remain least vaccinated, requiring ‘large-scale’ solution … AARP says Florida leads nation in COVID deaths of nursing home residents, staff … Hardware-free virtual physical therapy system...
Norovirus outbreaks trouble LTCFs; prevention needed, CDC researchers say
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 17, 2021
During the study period, 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico reported more than 13,000 norovirus outbreaks and upwards of 410,000 outbreak-associated cases in long-term care facilities.
Elders get a cognitive boost after positive social interactions, mobile study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 15, 2021
In a smartphone-enabled study, adults aged 70 years and older had better cognitive performance the same day that they reported having more frequent, pleasant social interactions than usual — and on the...