Federal regulation 42 CFR 483.12(a)(3) provides beneficiaries who rely on long-term care services with protection from abuse, neglect, and theft by preventing prospective employees with disqualifying offenses from being employed by these care providers and facilities. The National Background Check Program was enacted by legislation in 2010 to assist states in developing and improving systems for conducting federal and state …
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 …
On February 2, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reissued an Emergency Use Authorization for the emergency use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for the treatment of hospitalized patients with Covid-19. This reissues the letter of authorization released on November 20, 2020, and also contained the following updates: Includes updates based on data from additional clinical trials. Clarifies that the …
What proportion of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread is associated with the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from persons with no symptoms? In a recent study using multiple scenarios of proportions of asymptomatic individuals with COVID-19 and infectious periods, transmission from asymptomatic individuals was estimated to account for more than half of all transmissions. In addition …
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists into late 2020, findings from the new NSHAP-COVID Study show that many older adults are resuming in-person interactions. Older adults who are known to be at higher risk for COVID-19 would be expected to be particularly careful about potential exposure to the virus. Yet the data show that 53% of older adults report no change …
Influenza outbreaks in nursing homes pose a threat to frail residents and occur even in vaccinated populations. A pragmatic cluster-randomized trial was performed comparing adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) versus trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). Of 823 randomized nursing homes, 777 reported information on influenza outbreaks. The treatment group had similar characteristics at baseline except for race/ethnicity; homes assigned to TIV …
Patient transitions from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) require robust information sharing. After a decade of investment in health information technology infrastructure and new incentives to promote hospital-SNF coordination in the U.S., the current state of information sharing is unknown. A recent study was conducted to determine the quality of communication and sharing between the two settings. U.S. SNFs …
Testing is the cornerstone of a successful public health response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Nasopharyngeal sampling for nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) is the current, non-invasive criterion standard diagnostic test. However, nasopharyngeal testing requires trained personnel and handling of a specially designed swab, and the technique cannot be easily or reliably performed in all populations (i.e., children and quarantined …
Hooper Care Center It’s the little things that make a big difference for residents who are experiencing isolation during this pandemic. Katie Stanton of Hooper Care Center has given one resident at her facility something to look forward to each week, and has demonstrated her devotion to long term care in her hard work this past year! Katie Stanton is …
COVID-19 can involve multiple organs including the nervous system. In a recent study published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, 509 consecutive patients admitted with confirmed COVID-19 in a hospital network in Chicago, Illinois were examined for neurologic manifestations. The severity of COVID-19 and outcomes in patients with and without neurologic manifestations were compared. Neurologic manifestations were present …
