Respiratory Illnesses

Angie SzumlinskiNews

Yep, here we are again, in the throws of another difficult respiratory illness season! Hopefully you and yours are prepared, are taking precautions and are up to date with your vaccinations! There is a lot of controversy regarding vaccinations, I get it, that said, many of our frail elders will not survive this flu season without these vaccines. As a …

COVID-19 Pneumonia

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

Bacteria or viruses like influenza that cause pneumonia can spread across large regions of the lung within hours. In the modern intensive care unit, these bacteria or viruses are usually controlled either by antibiotics or by the body’s immune system within the first few days of the illness. But in a study published in Nature on January 11, 2021, investigators …

Process Failures – Increased Risk of Infection

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

In the United States, an estimated 21 million patients seek medical treatment for respiratory infections each year. Severe respiratory infections such as croup, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia are caused by bacterial and viral agents spread through respiratory droplets. Most viral pneumonias in the United States are caused by influenza and hospital associated infectious agents through respiratory droplets. In order to determine …

Hiring Nurses

Hiring more registered nurses and licensed independent practitioners, may be means of reducing Pneumonia and Influenza

Angie SzumlinskiNews

A recent study found that LTCFs with lower RSIRs had more licensed independent practitioners (nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants) among short-stay and long-stay residents, higher registered nurse hours/resident/day among short-stay and long-stay residents, and fewer residents for whom antipsychotics were prescribed among short-stay and long-stay residents. You can download the full study from Oxford University Press.