“To reduce avoidable hospitalizations, you must have a meaningful flow of information.” These are extremely wise words we need to really think about.
Clean your own house
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 07, 2015
It was recently announced that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents allegedly had repeated “sex parties” with prostitutes at events sponsored by none other than drug cartels themselves....
America’s finest people
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jan 26, 2016
Here we are again, with another record-breaking snowstorm … when the word SNOW is a four-letter word and just hearing it brings many of us to our knees (often to throw up in a panic in the bathroom!)
Planning for the unplanned: They ARE eventually going to leave!
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Mar 22, 2016
OK, in the title I’m not talking about your proverbial brother-in-law who is staying on the couch, or your college-graduated kids … because we all know they’re NEVER leave going to leave....
Once again the war on drugs forgets LTC
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jun 13, 2012
A proposed reclassification of painkillers is one more example of how the long-term care setting gets left out of policy discussions, and frail elders will pay the price.
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...
Give these nurses a hand, really
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jul 23, 2013
The American Nurses Association recently revealed national standards for safe patient handling and mobility. I say, “Bravo!” And it’s about time.
FDA — full of poop?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jun 11, 2013
Every few days I read the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) news to see if there is anything relevant to eldercare that I should be aware of. Recently, I came across an extremely eye-opening item.
Paying so docs communicate better
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 10, 2012
So I was reading this article in a publication related to improving patient-centered care. It stressed that essential to delivering that type of care would be physician/patient-centered communication skills.
Documentation is like cotton candy
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Oct 18, 2016
Very often, the nursing progress note documentation is like cotton candy. You think it looks really good but when you get down to it, it’s just a sticky mess! Or, just a bunch of fluff with no substance....