As caregivers, we are all aware that residents with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease are at higher risk for falls and head injuries. What we didn’t know until recently is that current trends in treating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease with antipsychotic medications may actually be increasing these risks. The results of a recent study published in the Journal of …
The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine recently published information regarding SED by AD. The article is interesting and highlights what many of us already know from experience, a growing number of people in the United States suffer with “dementia worry”. A U.S. survey found that the percentage of respondents concerned about developing dementia increased from 20% in 2006 …
Of course, our #1 priority is providing great care for our senior living residents, but did you know that how you treat your caregivers will affect how residents are treated? In this episode, Peter talks with HealthCap Risk Managers Joy Schultz and Sherry Mastropietro on their experience in skilled nursing and long term care facilities and how “just being nice” …
A recent article published in the Endocrine News identifies a new set of “quality measures” that outline key risk factors that raise an individual’s chances of developing hypoglycemia. Key risk factors include: Experiencing a hypoglycemic event where blood glucose levels dropped below 54 mg/dl and required immediate attention within the past year Experiencing altered mental or physical status requiring assistance …
In a recent publication of the Annals of Long Term Care, a research study regarding the impact of gait disturbances and hearing loss on predicting 6-month mortality in geriatric patients post-cardiac event was discussed. The study identified that while the traditional mortality risk factors remained important, the functional impairment measures resulted in significantly improved mortality risk prediction. This study can …
A recent study published in the Age and Ageing journal/British Geriatrics Society identified that dehydration is associated with significant adverse outcomes in older people despite being largely preventable and treatable. The study identified four themes that are discussed in the full article; however, it should cause us to take a moment to think about our seniors. How often do you …
ASPR TRACIE is a healthcare preparedness information gateway that provides access to information and resources to assist providers in improving their individual emergency response plans. The most recent addition to the toolkit published online is the “Influenza Pandemic Checklist”. This tool is intended to assist health care providers and their partners in assessing their preparedness for an influenza pandemic. It …
Many scholarly articles have been written regarding the incidence of frailty in the geriatric population and the negative outcomes related to frailty. In the post-acute care sector, we have just recently embraced the frailty idea and are working with different organizations, software companies, and assessment tools to assist in determining the level of frailty in our residents. A recent study …
HealthCap® worked with AHCA/NCAL last fall to analyze what Argentum’s push for developing ANSI standards would mean for the industry. We found that national standards would be redundant to state licensing oversight and accompanying standards, which would confuse and complicate compliance. Furthermore, two sets of standards would fuel even more litigation, as trial attorneys will be able to hand-pick between …
Listening to the news it seems that cyber-attacks are becoming more and more common. Is the Senior Living Community being targeted? What do hackers want? In today’s podcast, Peter and Angie talk with James Gutierrez, Director of IT at HealthCap. Listen to hear what you should do and how you can mitigate damage if you are attacked.
