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...
Lawmakers push to keep ‘ineffective’ new opioids from market
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 08, 2023
Congressional lawmakers have renewed efforts to give the Food and Drug Administration more power to deny drug applications for opioids that are not proven clinically superior to and lower risk than currently...
FDA proposes two annual COVID shots for seniors in ‘simplified’ vaccine schedule
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 24, 2023
In an effort to streamline COVID-19 protection, older adults and others vulnerable to severe disease would receive two annual shots of an updated vaccine, according to a plan to be evaluated on Thursday...
ADA: Diabetes may quadruple risk for long COVID
Jun 08, 2022
Diabetes may increase the risk for long COVID symptoms fourfold, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association.
Residents with self-care disability less likely to receive cancer treatment
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 05, 2021
Many nursing home residents do not receive cancer-directed treatment, and they are even less likely to do so if they have a self-care disability, according to a new study.
Ouch: Falls injuries continue to rise among U.S. seniors, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Feb 24, 2022
Despite ongoing prevention efforts, falls injury rates are increasing by 1.5% annually among older adults, Medicare claims show. Limitations in long-term care coverage don’t help, investigators say.
State to test nursing home residents for antibodies, weigh need for 4th vax
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 24, 2022
The state of Maryland will test nursing home residents for COVID-19 antibodies in a proactive effort to determine whether or not they should be offered a fourth vaccine dose, Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced...
Virtual EMR review may improve care delivery during resident transfers, nurses say
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 21, 2023
With the correct supports in place, virtual review of transferred residents’ electronic medical records may help nursing home clinicians deliver continuity of care and effective interventions, LTC nurses...
Nursing home clinicians still overdiagnose UTIs despite antibiotic stewardship efforts: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 14, 2022
As a group, primary care providers and RNs misclassified UTIs about one-third of the time, an investigator tells McKnight’s. Nurses had greater odds of an incorrect assessment.
LTC clinicians cheer pandemic milestone: Federal approval of first COVID-19 vaccine
By
Alicia Lasek
Sep 24, 2021
Long-term care clinicians are embracing the FDA’s first full approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, saying the decision will support their efforts to increase vaccination coverage and reduce infections and...