‘We have to do better’ on infection prevention, CMS official tells LTC nurse managers during...
By
Marty Stempniak
Jun 29, 2018
Nursing homes’s new survey routine seems to be going smoothly, about half a year in, but infection prevention problems continue to plague the field.
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.
Lining up for the great hand-hygiene escape
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 30, 2021
When’s the last time your employees lined up during lunch breaks for voluntary training? Proving again that healthcare workers are among the world’s most resourceful, a team from the Central Texas...
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...
CMS still dropping the ball on infection prevention in nursing homes: GAO
By
Jessica R. Towhey
Jul 12, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has yet to create certain infection prevention standards for nursing homes, a federal watchdog complained Tuesday in a new report.
Increases in non-COVID infections ‘wipe out’ decade of progress
By
Kimberly Marselas
Sep 03, 2021
The CDC’s new report of a spike in healthcare associated infections is alarming, says the nation’s leading infection control group. One bright spot for nursing homes: CDC found no increase in Clostridium...
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...
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...
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...