Nurse walking with resident

Culture, Culture, Culture

Angie SzumlinskiCase Study, News

Isn’t that what everyone is talking about? “Change your culture and outcomes will improve”! “Its’ a culture problem”! We have all heard it and have probably said it when we are referring to centers that are struggling with resident care and outcomes. McKnight’s Clinical News recently published an article that discussed “poor work environments” and “missed care”. In the article, …

MDS Updates – Coming October 2020

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements, Compliance

Good, bad or indifferent, CMS is changing the MDS effective October 2020! Surprisingly, there will no longer be a section G in OBRA and PPS assessments and will only appear on the Optional State Assessment (OSA). There are tons of questions regarding how this will impact how we document functional status. The limited coding instructions imply we will eliminate the …

Close up of various colorful candy

Antibiotics – Not Candy!

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

I took my dad to his cardiology appointment last week and as we were discussing aortic valve surgery my dad looks at the doctor and says: Dad:      “You need to give me an antibiotic.” Doctor: “Why? What do you need an antibiotic for?” Dad:      “Because I’m stuffed up and I have the flu.” Doctor: “Well, let me tell you …

white pill on white background with bottle

Antipsychotic – The Silent Killer?

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

We have all heard about hypertension being the silent killer, but what about the use of “first-generation” or “typical” antipsychotic medications? A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that geriatric patients receiving these medications were significantly more likely to experience death or cardiopulmonary arrest compared to people who did not take these drugs! Unfortunately, …

Handcuffed hands held up in defense

Human Trafficking: Modern Slavery

Angie SzumlinskiTraining

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery – a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 20.9 million people around the world. No matter where you live, chances are it’s happening nearby. From the girl forced to prostitute at a truck stop, to the man discovered in a restaurant kitchen, stripped of his passport and held against his …

Nursing Home Compare is Getting a New Look

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements

The CMS website Nursing Home Compare will take on a new look this spring! The new website “Medicare Care Compare” will standardize the eight different existing compare tools (hospitals, nursing homes, dialysis facilities, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, physicians and hospice). There will be a transition period where you can view new tools and the existing tools before they …

Old and young person picking beans

Nothing Replaces Mom and Chicken Soup

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

Ask yourself, do you get comfort from familiar surroundings, close family and friends or home cooking? How about folding towels and sorting yarn? It sounds like a silly question, however, if you look at the activity programming we provide in many memory care units, we might be missing the mark. In a recent study published in the Journal of Aging …

Frontotemporal Dementia – Heredity

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

Approximately 40% of people with Frontotemporal Dementia inherited it. 15% of all dementia diagnoses are Frontotemporal Dementia. These numbers are significant for many reasons; however, a recent study identified that active lifestyles may slow the symptoms of the disease by providing some form of cognitive resilience to the consequences of brain degeneration. Per Kaitlin Casaletto, Ph.D., from the University of …

Walnuts

Oh, Nuts!

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

As a child during the Christmas holiday, our family had whole nuts in the shell in a large bowl on the counter. There was a nutcracker and small metal picks that we used to pry the nuts from the shells. This was a tradition in our home and to this day I miss it. Little did I know then that …