Every hour that a resident is in septic shock and not receiving antibiotics, their risk of death increases by almost 10%. Knowing the signs of sepsis and early diagnosis are key to fighting the infection. Peter Feeney talks with Risk Managers Cathy Angi and Cathy Hamblen about what to look for and what to do when you suspect sepsis.
Don’t be left in the dark! Be sure to access the memos from CMS (links below) to learn how the changes in the star rating and the Nursing Home Compare website could impact your operations! There is special attention being focused on Oregon nursing centers so please make yourself and your team aware of these important updates! https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Downloads/QSO-20-02-NH.pdf https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Downloads/QSO-20-01-NH.pdf
Only 15.5 percent of adult patients with pneumonia received pneumococcal urinary antigen testing (UAT), a useful tool that, when it yields positive findings, can help physicians reduce the time that patients in stable condition need to take broad-spectrum antibiotics, according to an AHRQ study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The researchers used data from a national discharge hospital database over a …
Not too long ago, hip protectors were introduced to the post-acute care network. At first, everyone thought it was a novel idea and many of our centers purchased them for their at-risk residents. Unfortunately, they seemed to be “bulky”, “burdensome to put on”, expensive and staff tended to be non-compliant with using them. Well, all of this may be true …
For much of the country, winter is here (or will be soon)! What do facilities need to do to be ready? Is there anything you’re not thinking about? Preparation is the key, especially for those southern states where winter doesn’t strike often. In this episode, Peter talks with Angie Szumlinski about what to think about, how to prepare and what …
Although Resident Rights are not “new” in post-acute care, it is always good to remind our team about the importance of respecting each and every resident’s right to live with dignity. We often get caught up in the day-to-day of providing care and “forget” to be nice, forget to say please and thank you and most importantly, forget to recognize …
Have you ever experienced pain, gone to the doctor’s office and received pain medications? Well, we all know that we are experiencing an opioid crisis today and mainly due to the over-use of pain medications. True story, a family member had some minor, outpatient procedure performed and was discharged with a prescription for pain medications. Yep, an opioid! Fortunately, it …
If you work in the SNF world you are familiar with the CMS 3-day stay rule, head in the bed for three nights in acute care to qualify for SNF care. The good news is that there is movement underway to revise this criteria and is currently in Washington DC for review. Let’s keep out fingers crossed that we gain …
