Approximately 10% of nursing home (NH) residents are taking an anti-seizure medication (ASM), and 7.8% have an epilepsy/seizure indication. In one recent study, levetiracetam (LEV) and phenytoin (PHT) were the most commonly prescribed ASMs in US NH...
Life enrichment (LE) activities are highly preferable among nursing home residents (NHRs). Unfortunately, they were widely restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic due to safety measures, health precautions, and social isolation. This pandemic had...
Geriatric healthcare occurs at a variety of levels of care, some of which include skilled nursing facilities (SNF), assisted living facilities (ALF), personal care homes (PCH), and home and community based services (HBC). The COVID-19 pandemic...
Miscommunications and handoff errors are 2 leading causes of preventable medical errors in the US. In an effort to decrease these types of errors when transferring patients from one facility to another, the New Jersey (NJ) Universal Transfer Form (...
This study provides input from nursing home administrators on their challenges (financial, quality, staffing) in caring for severely obese residents. In addition, we report on how changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected care for people...
Prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, telemedicine was limited and infrequently used in PALTC. As the pandemic spread and negatively impacted direct physician care, telemedicine offered a way to ensure continuity of care. Telehealth was a crucial link...
Substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD) in older adults represent one of the fastest-growing public health concerns in the United States.1 A 2020 CDC report showed that drug overdose deaths among adults aged 65 and older...
Pain is underrecognized and undertreated in nursing home settings. Pain management represents a challenge in nursing home residents (NHRs). During the COVID-19 pandemic, NHRs have been affected by the virus mortality, staffing shortages,...
Loneliness poses a risk to long-term care residents’ physical, mental, and emotional health. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the psychosocial challenges in long-term care. To address these long-standing challenges, programs focused on...
Infection control practices in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) setting have been a critical priority during COVID-19. Our study observed specifically which practices, as predicted by SNF infection management staff, are likely to remain in place...
