A venous leg ulcer (VLU), also known as a varicose ulcer, stasis ulcer, or phlebostatic ulcer, is the most common ulcer of the leg, accounting for about 70% of all ulcerations. The clinical features of VLUs include increased skin temperature of the lower extremities, edema, varicose veins, and skin changes, such as stasis eczema, skin sclerosis, and hyperpigmentation. In 1882, …
Root Cause Analysis
Sound familiar? It has been a very long year with the pandemic and working through one crisis after another right? It is truly time to get back to basics, let’s move the bar and take action on some of the things that we can truly change or improve! Root Cause Analysis has been around forever and a day, it assists …
It Is Five O’Clock Somewhere
Alcohol is one of the most widely available psychoactive substances globally. Many accept the risks associated with alcohol consumption for reasons such as social engagement and feelings of pleasure. Alcohol consumption in a nursing home setting highlights the moral and logistical challenges of balancing the need for a safe living and working environment with the dignity of risk (DoR) and …
Medication Harm – Preventable?
Mitigating or reducing the risk of medication harm is a global policy priority. But evidence reflecting preventable medication harm in medical care and the factors that derive this harm remain unknown. In a study published in BMC Medicine, the researchers aimed to quantify the prevalence, severity, and type of preventable medication harm across medical care settings. The study findings confirm …
Skin Failure vs Pressure Injury
With medical advancements in past decades, patients frequently survive acute and/or chronic conditions that once relegated them to immediate death. Consequently, medical conditions, such as integument failure, once without time to manifest, are now commonly observed. In 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) set a goal to reduce the number of hospital-acquired conditions (including pressure injuries) by …
10 Steps to Reform and Improve Nursing Homes
In a recent article published in AARP, FAMILY CAREGIVING Medical, the “experts” identified 10- steps to reform and improve nursing homes. Some of the key points of the article were not “new” to those of us in the trenches however it is interesting how it was presented. Here are a few things that the organization and experts think we need …
WPOE
Wrong-patient order entry (WPOE) represents an important type of error. Although studies indicate that practitioners place more than 99.9% of all orders for the correct patient, the large number of orders placed by practitioners each day suggests that even an error rate of less than 1 in 1000 orders would still lead to approximately 600,000 orders placed for the wrong …
Patient-Centered Fall-Prevention Toolkit
Falls represent a leading cause of preventable injury in hospitals and a frequently reported serious adverse event. Hospitalization is associated with an increased risk for falls and serious injuries including hip fractures, subdural hematomas, or even death. A recent, nonrandomized, controlled trial assessed whether a fall-prevention tool kit that engages patients and families in the fall prevention process throughout hospitalization …
Mom Does Know Best!
In August HealthCap posted a blog discussing how low plasma levels of Vitamin D was identified as being an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection and hospitalization. Interestingly, in an article published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society on October 5, 2020, studies now show that progressively lower plasma levels of Vitamin D predicted increased risks of incident hospital-diagnosed …
Influenza Season – It CAN Affect You!
We are beginning that dreaded time of the year, influenza season is upon us! As we care for our residents we should be also take care of ourselves! Unfortunately, per the CDC that doesn’t appear to be the case for long-term care health professionals! In a recent media release, the CDC identified that we are not receiving the influenza vaccine …