Feeling a little cynical about life or country? Spend a day with a few World War II veterans on the National Mall. I guarantee a complete recovery, or your money back.
Why LTC organizations should conduct end-of-life planning conversations
By
Kerry Shannon
Apr 07, 2014
Advance end-of-life planning can spare patients unwanted, aggressive treatments and it can help physicians calibrate care in more reasonable manner.
Essential steps for treating those with COPD
By
John W. Walsh
Mar 05, 2014
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive, presently incurable respiratory illness that is characterized by airflow obstruction. For long-term care professionals, knowledge about every...
Defining tolerance in therapy
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Feb 12, 2014
How do you define tolerance? Is tolerance measurable? Is tolerance too subjective? What about activity tolerance? We love to document how patients are improving activity tolerance, but many times that’s...
Lost in Medicare Part D land
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 10, 2013
My mom called me to relay her “tragic” story of trying to sign up for a Medicare Part D plan. She hadn’t signed up for one, and didn’t feel that she needed one, but at lunch her...
Are you prepared? 5 questions you need to know the answers to
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Aug 27, 2013
With all the recent regulatory changes that have come down the line, or are about to, we developed a simple five-question survey that each provider had to ask every therapy employee. If you can develop...
Crossing the quality chasm in dementia care
By
Jackie Pinkowitz and Karen Love
Mar 27, 2013
All too often, dementia care in this country reflects that impersonal and fragmented culture. We invite stakeholder to advance a person-centered healthcare culture in our country.
Advanced liver disease and hepatic encephalopathy in the elderly
By
Fred Poordad, M.D.
Nov 02, 2012
Recent news coverage pointed the spotlight on hepatitis C and the baby boomer population, but the elderly population also is particularly susceptible to liver disease, and its care often falls into the...
Short cycle dispense: A case study in implementation
By
Jonathan Shaatal, R.PH., MS, and Carol Sirianni, R.PH.,
Aug 02, 2012
A new rule from CMS promises to have a tremendous impact on how long-term care pharmacy (LTCP) providers serving skilled nursing facilities will operate their businesses and serve facility residents. A...
Breaches of basic infection control practices — why?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jul 30, 2012
Basic infection prevention and control isn’t rocket science. It is essentially following some general guidelines. Some of them pretty simplistic. Not too hard right? You would think, but …