With the challenges we have faced in the past 2 years, wouldn’t you think we would embrace each other, accept others for who they are, respect individuality and diversity? One would think so, but when I read a recent article in Medscape UK, it took me aback, I was not only surprised but disappointed in humanity in general. A healthcare …
This is not a new tool and was developed for hospitals however the tools may be helpful if you are currently working on developing or improving your pressure reduction, skin integrity program. Pressure ulcer prevention requires an interdisciplinary approach to care. Some parts of pressure ulcer prevention care are highly routinized, but care must also be tailored to the specific …
Care home settings, such as nursing homes or residential care homes, present unique challenges to patient safety. This systematic review published by the National Library of Medicine identified several gaps in the available safety measures used for quality monitoring and improvement in older adult care homes, including patient experience (i.e., quality of life or other resident-reported indicators of safety, psychological …
Instructions on insulin vials or pens indicate that they should be stored, unopened, at temperatures of 35.6° F-46.4°F. Once the vial or pen is opened/punctured the insulin can be stored at room temperature 77°F-86°F for up to 28 days. As we hear more and more about social inequities, researchers took it upon themselves to determine how safe insulin would be …
A husband and wife briefly escaped from a secure memory unit at an assisted living facility in Lebanon, Tennessee last month by using military experience with Morse code to decipher and memorize the code to an electronic door lock, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. Once back at the Elmcroft, staff were curious about how the couple had escaped …
Now that we have turned the corner (hopefully) on the pandemic, it might be time to get back to the basics of ensuring our environment is safe and healthy for our residents and staff. Hopefully, we have continued to maintain an active environmental safety committee and continue to monitor/audit high-risk areas on a scheduled basis. This might include hot water …
Transitioning from hospital to nursing home (NH) can be a vulnerable time for patients. A recent study posted on the AHRQ website looked for potential associations between adverse events (AE) for nursing home residents following hospital discharge and nursing home characteristics (i.e., 5-star quality rating, ownership, bed size). Researchers found few associations with individual quality indicators and no association between …
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has posted a list of resources for providers to use as we look forward or take steps back during the pandemic. Times are uncertain, change is a “norm” and your resilience has been amazing. That said, it might be time to look at the systems you have in place to be sure …
The right message at the right time from the right person can save lives. CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) draws from lessons learned during past public health emergencies and research in the fields of public health, psychology, and emergency risk communication. CDC’s CERC program provides trainings, tools, and resources to help health communicators, emergency responders, and leaders of …
Bortezomib is a common multiple myeloma therapy that can cause treatment-related peripheral neuropathy, a risk factor for falls. The relationship between bortezomib and falls in older patients with multiple myeloma is unknown. In a recent study published in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology, in older adults with multiple myeloma, bortezomib was associated with an increased risk of having a diagnostic …
