Newly proposed legislation could soon allow nurses in nursing homes to administer controlled substance painkillers to residents when acting on a physician’s verbal orders.
The legislation comes despite increasing numbers of nursing home residents who have been killed because of poorly administered, or over-administered, painkillers. Continue reading
A new study has found that staff in nursing homes can dramatically reduce the risk of a deadly flu outbreak in the facility by getting flu shots.
Confirming previous studies and guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the University of Oklahoma study found that when between 51 and 75 percent of direct caregivers are vaccinated against the flu, the odds of a flu outbreak in that facility decreased by a dramatic 87 percent. Continue reading
Long-term nursing home and care facilities in Florida are ranked 44 out of 51 states (including the District of Columbia), based on the types and quality of long-term care provided to nursing home residents and dependent adults.
Using a ranking system that compared each state on its overall success in the areas of: quality of life, quality of care and accessibility of care, “Raising Expectations: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers” was recently published by the AARP Public Policy Institute, the Commonwealth Fund, and the SCAN Foundation. Continue reading
Each year, it is estimated that 1 out of 3 adults ages 65 and older falls. Falls are the leading cause of injuries that result in death. In nursing home residents, falls are the leading cause of injury.
Even when the fall does not result in injury, most elderly people who fall develop an acute fear of falling again.
Elderly nursing home residents are at a high risk for fall-related injury because with their aging comes numerous physical changes, including: Continue reading