It’s been more than four years since the onset of the tragic pandemic that took the lives of nearly a quarter million vulnerable older adults living in nursing homes. Their lives mattered. How they spent...
Moving the needle in nursing home vaccination rates
By
Michael Wasserman
Leslie Eber
Feb 14, 2024
On February 29, 2020, the first Coronavirus nursing home outbreak was reported by the media. Experts in geriatric and long-term care medicine immediately understood the dangers to nursing home residents....
Working together to combat vaccine hesitancy
By
David Gifford, M.D.
Dec 19, 2023
We must ensure that our population has vaccines to fight off common respiratory viruses this holiday season — and beyond.
These practical, effective strategies will protect your LTC residents against rising COVID-19 threats
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
Nov 09, 2023
This fall, flu isn’t the only communicable, infectious disease that long-term care facilities are worried about. COVID-19 — now endemic in our population — is also a looming threat, with all signs...
New waves: Six ways to promote mental health during COVID resurgence at SNFs
By
John Lee
Nov 01, 2023
The arrival of autumn may bring with it cool weather and the expectation of the holidays, but also the resurgence of the flu and COVID-19. For those of us working in the skilled nursing facility setting,...
Infection control without adding staff — it’s not just a fluke
By
Mary Cole
Jul 26, 2023
In a recent letter to leaders in Congress, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) highlighted the “astonishing lack of attention to infection prevention and control...
Facts don’t support attacking nursing home care
By
Brendan Williams
Jul 26, 2023
We can probably assume no House Select Subcommittee will stage a showy hearing to examine the recent finding that the excess mortality rate was better during the COVID-19 pandemic for those with dementia...
Back to business as unusual
By
Jean Wendland Porter
May 30, 2023
On May 11, 2023, the Public Health Emergency ended in the United States. Obviously, the whole world is celebrating the diminished COVID-19 numbers and the drop in COVID-related deaths. But we’ve been...
What the Kirkland verdict means for emergency preparedness
By
Norris Cunningham
May 29, 2023
There is little doubt that leaders at Life Care Centers of America breathed a huge sigh of relief, as did the entire skilled nursing industry, when a federal jury found that Life Care Center of Kirkland,...
The punitive fist versus the hand of support
By
Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, CIC
May 03, 2023
In the late 2010s, the long-term care industry began to take action that would reflect the growing importance of incorporating robust infection prevention practices. Facilities were required to develop...