A study found one in five nursing home residents with advanced dementia harbor strains of drug-resistant bacteria. More than 10 percent of the drug-resistant bacteria are resistant to four or more antibiotic classes. The research was published online in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Erika
Visitor Reports The State recently reported how nursing homes in South Carolina ignored reporting requirements during COVID. The facilities claim they ere more interested in patient care than documenting that they actually provided the care. However, documentation is a necessary part of the nursing process and quality of care. Documentation allows communication among different caregivers;
Communication Skilled Nursing News reported in a recent webinar sponsored by MatrixCare discussing collaboration between physicians and nursing homes. SNFs are required to have a medical director – a physician responsible for coordinating care at the facility – by law. However, COVID showed improvement was long overdue. COVID is the catalyst for significant change in the
For-profit Healthcare People always complain about universal health care as socialism. They assume a not for profit health care system would negatively affect the quality of care. However, that does not appear to be true. For example, federal data shows that for-profit facilities were 18% less effective with preventing COVID-19 infections than nonprofit or government-run
Drain the Swamp In the midst of a national shortage of N95 masks, Trump secretly granted an exception to its export ban on protective gear. The U.S. Strategic National Stockpile has not yet met its goal for N95 respirators. See U.S. Government Accountability Office report. The December report said 190 million N95 respirators were in
McKnight’s reported on the latest pandemic relief package. Half a billion dollars in funding will help nursing homes prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19 in their facilities. Infection control funds will support nursing home strike teams. Nursing homes have been petri dishes for infectious diseases. A Government Accountability Office report found 80 percent of