The burden of polypharmacy has become an increasing challenge in long-term care (LTC). Multiple medications prescribed may increase the risk of adverse drug events, such as falls and hospital transfers, especially for frail older adults with...
Interdisciplinary (ID) care plan meetings are a key component of nursing home care in 2019. Initially established as a didactic technique for teaching graduate nurses in the 1930s, the care plan has gone through many iterations to make it what it is...
Transitions across healthcare settings lead to unintentional errors, rehospitalizations, and mortality, and a key reason is poor communication between care settings. We developed a weekly telehealth videoconference to facilitate a virtual care...
Symptoms of delirium are common in the post-acute care setting, particularly in patients who have dementia or are approaching the end of life. When behavioral measures fail to adequately manage symptoms, there are few alternative options...
There has been a growing emphasis towards emotional well-being in the care of older adults. This is especially important with regards to residents in a nursing home, where they can often feel marginalized or depressed. The aim of this study is to...
Many patients are discharged to post-acute care facilities (PACFs) following surgery. These patients have either had major surgery and require close monitoring and intensive rehabilitation, or have significant medical co-morbidities. Currently they...
VA CLCs are surveyed per Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations by the Long-Term Care Institute (LTCI). With the accreditation focus being primarily on The Joint Commission survey process, we found that many at our facility...
It is critically important to ensure quality care and social support for older adults within long-term care (LTC) and assisted living (AL) facilities. Studies have demonstrated that a higher frequency of visits by family improves the psychosocial...
Nursing home (NH) residents are at increased risk for malnutrition compared to community-dwelling older adults. Poor nutrition is associated with depression, functional decline, and higher 1-year mortality. Communal dining environments create a...
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) definition: “a germ (bacteria) that causes life-threatening diarrhea. It is usually a side-effect of taking antibiotics.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2015 report, over 100...
