As post-acute care providers, many of us provide care to residents who have suffered a closed head injury/stroke. Many of these residents are being transferred to our centers for short-term rehabilitation services or long-term care after a stay in acute care. Sadly, healthcare facilities, including acute care centers, tend to harbor infectious organisms just by the nature of their care …
Sepsis is a word every healthcare provider fears, it sends chills up your spine, right? We have been trained to be alert to signs and symptoms of sepsis and follow the recommendations of the CDC. That said, there are many experts in the field of infectious disease who disagree with the quality measure known as “Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: …
We have all been besieged with post-pandemic staffing challenges. The new buzzword is “staffing” and at pretty much every water cooler you can hear the frustration in the voices of providers. Adding to the problem, we are now losing the option of utilizing temporary CNAs to assist in basic care for our residents. So, what’s a provider to do? In …
I was totally intrigued by the couple who ran the Boston Marathon along with their 6-year-old son. This being a “no judge zone” blog space, I am not giving an opinion one way or the other, just saying it intrigued me. At the end of the day, we all have our ideas of how to have the healthiest or most …
I was going to title this “well crap” but my grandson would say “language gaga”! Seriously, it is kind of an odd subject to write a blog on, but I read a recent study on the subject and found it really interesting. As we age, our bodies sometimes rebel, many times causing us to become incontinent of bowel and bladder. …
As providers, you know the challenges of caring for residents living with memory loss, whether it is a blanket diagnosis of “dementia” or a specific diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, it is devastating for both the resident and the family. Watching loved ones decline to the point of not recognizing their own children can cause frustration and such a huge sense …
Okay, really? What is “pandemic feet” all about? Well, according to The New York Times, podiatrists are reporting an uptick in foot trauma since the pandemic. Although there is no hard data on this trend, many podiatrists have spotted a clear correlation between foot injuries and the pandemic. Think about it, fitness centers basically closed their doors in states where …
As we see our concern over the pandemic of 2020 waning, maybe it is time for us to look at other disaster preparedness protocols. As I watch the national news and weather reports, it is obvious that we are in the midst of spring weather threats. These threats are often catastrophic and often result in the loss of life. For …
Last week I had the pleasure of participating in a roundtable discussion with providers from around the country. The goal of the meeting was to talk about where we have been and how we survived the past 2 years, but more importantly, we discussed where we are going and how we plan to get there. There were about 25 people …
When my parents were young back in the early 1940s, tuberculosis (Tb) was a common disease. There were Tb sanitariums around the country and sadly, when my dad was 8 years old, his mother succumbed to the disease. The stories from that time are heartbreaking and unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in Tb cases again. The good news is …
