We are proud to recognize the 2021 Bronze Award recipients who are HealthCap® members. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) bestowed this honor on 263 skilled nursing care centers and assisted living communities. We applaud the 8 HealthCap® members who achieved this distinction! Applicants for the Bronze Award level used the Baldrige Excellence Framework …
The National Safety Council offers resources for you and your team of caregivers as we evolve from pandemic to the “new normal”. These resources include training regarding substance abuse, how to ask for help at work, a prevention checklist for employees, webinars on managing mental health, etc. Their website explains that “the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the mental health and …
The CDC has updated the website to include healthcare facilities in production for COVID-19 electronic case reporting. Electronic case reporting (eCR) is the automated, real-time exchange of case report information between electronic health records and public health agencies. In partnership with the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), CDC is rapidly …
“Older adults have experienced a higher risk for COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality and therefore have been prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination”, according to a recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. After the first 3.5 months of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program, 79.1% of adults aged ≥65 years had received ≥1 dose, with higher vaccination initiation among men. Counties with lower …
The CDC has posted a forecast model for new cases of COVID-19 and deaths related to the virus. The data and how it is determined are outlined on the website. It is interesting information especially now that we are all relaxing and letting our guard down. Not to raise concern as much as to keep us informed as we move …
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many, but perhaps most prominently on health care workers. The Emotional PPE Project is attempting to solve this massive problem by connecting struggling health care workers with free mental health care from licensed mental health practitioners in their state. Ariel Brown, who created the Emotional PPE Project, describes …
We have all watched in horror, the pandemic outbreak in India and have felt the need to do something. Well someone has! Merck announced that the company has entered into non-exclusive, voluntary licensing agreements for molnupiravir with five established Indian generics manufacturers. Molnupiravir is an investigational oral antiviral agent currently being studied in a Phase 3 trial for the treatment …
“The concept of safety culture originated outside health care, in studies of high reliability organizations, organizations that consistently minimize adverse events despite carrying out intrinsically complex and hazardous work. High reliability organizations maintain a commitment to safety at all levels, from frontline providers to managers and executives. This commitment establishes a “culture of safety” that encompasses these key features: – …
In the year of the pandemic, many of us struggled with staffing and continue to be challenged, however, it is important that we not skip important steps in the hiring process such as checking the OIG exclusion list. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has the authority to exclude individuals and entities from Federally funded health care programs for …
Whether it’s emotional or physical, many patients who have been infected with COVID-19 are living with long-term effects from the virus. Specialized support is available to anyone experiencing long COVID symptoms at Montefiore-Einstein’s COVID-19 Recovery Clinic (CORE). “Just as physical weakness is common, so too are challenges with thinking, anxiety, fear, loneliness, difficulty coping, and difficulty sleeping,” Aluko A. Hope, …
