Best Practices for Medication Management in Assisted Living: Pharmacy and Community Practices
Managing medications for assisted living residents can be complex and challenging. Medication errors can have severe consequences, but for residents in assisted living the risks can be even more significant. Errors can lead to hospitalization, disability, and even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, medications are implicated in over 450,000 emergency department visits each year for adults aged 65 years and older, a rate more than twice as often as younger individuals (CDC, “Adverse Drug Events in Adults,” Medication Safety Program, April 6, 2023, https://bit.ly/48szzZZ). (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Burton Korer Tags: Assisted Living Source Type: news
When It Comes to Deactivating Pacemakers at the End of Life, Intention Is at the Heart of the Matter
Lisa is a retired (and fictional) social worker and mother of three adult children. For the past year, she has experienced recurrent hospitalizations for behavioral disturbances related to dementia. After each discharge, her family notices she is frailer and more confused. Reflecting on an advance directive Lisa had created five years earlier, her oldest daughter notes that Lisa wouldn ’t have wanted life-sustaining therapies if she were so confused that she couldn’t recognize her family. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Joshua Briscoe Tags: Medical Ethics Source Type: news
Geriatric Cardiology: At the Forefront of Cardiovascular Care for Older Adults
The field of geriatric cardiology is growing in size and reach, with cardiovascular experts advancing their efforts to collaborate with geriatricians and educate cardiologists about important principles of caring for the rapidly growing number of older patients in the United States. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Christine Kilgore Source Type: news
Annual Giving Makes Us Strong ... Every Gift Supports PALTC Now and Into the Future
As I write this, I am reflecting on the generosity and conversations I had with new and seasoned annual donors at the Annual Conference of AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine last month in San Antonio. These annual donors talked about connecting with our mission and how these acts resonate with them in building a brighter, better path for our PALTC practitioners and ultimately for the patients we serve. Many new donors have started small: a $25 gift can be as meaningful as a $25,000 gift when it is pooled with others and has a major impact on our work. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Heidi White Tags: Our Foundation Source Type: news
Loneliness and Heart Disease: What the Literature Tells Us and What We Can Do to Help
Of the many things we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, one valuable lesson is that loneliness has a tremendous impact on health. Loneliness has been linked to a number of medical conditions in older patients, including depression, dementia, and heart disease. Loneliness, defined as “being without company,” is the subjective feeling of being socially isolated. A person can be alone without feeling lonely, just as one can have social support and yet still report feeling lonely. As part of the special section on Heart Disease and Matters of the Heart, we present recent litera ture on the impact of loneliness on heart d...
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Casey Rust, Seifu Tulu Source Type: news
Don ’t Miss These Events
May 9, 2024 (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Source Type: news
“Thank You for Being a Friend” in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care
“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light.” — Helen Keller (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Elizabeth Galik Tags: Caring Collaborative Source Type: news
Women and Cardiovascular Disease: Where Is the Data for PALTC?
Dear Dr. Diane: My question is around guidance and guidelines. I have several residents with heart conditions, and I am often at odds with the cardiologist who is always interested in doing another test. Many of my residents are women, and I noticed that there appears to be a gap with the information regarding women with heart conditions in nursing homes. Can you help me locate the resources I need to take back to my facility and this cardiologist? (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Diane Sanders-Cepeda Tags: Dear Dr. Diane Source Type: news
What Makes Some Hip Fracture Patients More Physically Resilient Than Others?
Hip fractures are often associated with physical limitations and a lower quality of life, yet some older adults demonstrate “physical resilience” in which they maintain or regain their ability to walk. Researchers in Sweden were curious about the characteristics of such resilient individuals. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Jeffrey S. Eisenberg Source Type: news
Does Severe Aggression in Dementia Increase Mortality Risk?
Severe aggression in individuals with dementia may lead to greater mortality risk, research from Belgium suggests. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Jeffrey S. Eisenberg Source Type: news
CPR: To Resuscitate or Not to Resuscitate
In the event my heart stops and my breathing ceases, I want cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Alternatively, if my heart stops and my breathing ceases, I do not want CPR. The preceding two sentences can make the difference between life and death. But what if a person ’s choice is ignored? Here we enter the land where medicine, law, and ethics collide. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Alan C. Horowitz Tags: Legal Issues Source Type: news
Making Just Culture Part of the “Heartbeat” of Your Facility
Consider this scenario: a nursing home resident lives for the weekly visits from volunteers with their dogs. During one visit, a dog scratches her arm and breaks the skin. The wound is treated and appears to be healing. However, to prevent her from further harm, facility leaders and the resident ’s family decide the pet visits should stop. The resident, who is cognitively intact, is upset. She is adamant that she is happy to take the risk of getting hurt to spend time with the dogs. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Joanne Kaldy Source Type: news
SGLT-2 Inhibitors for the Management of Heart Failure
Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors have rapidly won a front seat in the management of heart failure for their ability to reduce cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalizations, including in older adults. But of prime importance for geriatric patients is also the fact that the SGLT-2 inhibitors “work quickly and safely to help patients feel better,” said cardiologist Nicole M. Orr, MD. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Christine Kilgore Source Type: news
New SNF Certification Validates Evidence-based Stroke Rehabilitation
Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States, and approximately 795,000 people each year experience a new or recurrent stroke, according to the 2023 statistical update from the American Heart Association (AHA) (Circulation 2023;147:e93 –e621). (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Kyle G. Lavergne Tags: Partner Perspective Source Type: news
Spirituality, Health, and the Core Curriculum
In July 2022 a pivotal review by Tracy A. Balboni, MD, MPH, and colleagues from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Brigham and Women ’s Hospital, and other institutions across the United States was published in JAMA (2022;328:184–197). Their study, “Spirituality in Serious Illness and Health,” included a comprehensive systematic review and a multidisciplinary Delphi panel assessment of the role of spirituality (broadly de fined) in both serious illness and a wide range of health outcomes. (Source: Caring for the Ages)
Source: Caring for the Ages - April 26, 2024 Category: Health Management Authors: Sarah McEvoy Source Type: news
