OBJECTIVE To determine the utility of a safe lifting program index and a measure of lift inventory to predict workers' compensation claim frequency and costs in long-term care facilities in 23 states. METHODS Workers' compensation claims and cost data were matched to Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)-certified facilities (N = 656). Facility safe lifting program index were derive...

OBJECTIVES This article examines the views of nursing staff and administrators in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) regarding a clinical pathway for managing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in LTCF residents. DESIGN A qualitative (case study) design was used. SETTING Data were collected from 8 LTCFs in southern Ontario and 2 in Iowa enrolled in a larger randomized controlled trial of clinic...

BACKGROUND Growing evidence shows that sense of coherence (SOC) is related to health promotion. Knowledge of SOC among older adults in Taiwan is limited. The present study aimed to investigate SOC status and its relationship to personal and environmental factors among older adult residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in northeastern Taiwan. METHODS This cross-sectional study was perf...

The North Shore-LIJ Health System is the third-largest nonsectarian health system in the country. Created in 1998, the health system’s laboratory model consists of a strategically located core lab that uses total laboratory automation and offers consolidated testing, a rapid response lab in each of the system’s 18 hospitals, a standardized LIS, and standardized laboratory instrumentation. The c...

Congress is considering proposals to improve its financing of long-term care. The key issue is whether it should support a social insurance program or a program targeted to a population group defined by income and assets. Social insurance is expensive, costing between $15 and $20 billion. For the most part, it provides benefits--primarily asset protection--to middle- and upper-income individual...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the impact of oseltamivir prophylaxis in the management and control of influenza outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Alberta, Canada. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Long-term care facilities where 127 influenza outbreaks were reported to public health authorities in Alberta, Canada, during two influenza seasons from 2013 to 2015. DESIGN AND OUTCOME MEASURES Using rout...

Hospitalized sub-acute medicine patients face challenges to their functional and cognitive abilities as they await transfer to long-term care facilities or return home. The Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Council, representing a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals working in the Sub-Acute Medicine Unit (SAMU), implemented a twice-weekly lunch program called the Lunch Bunch i...

The emergence of organisms resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents is occurring worldwide. Among these organisms, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been found to have a major impact on patient care and has been responsible for numerous outbreaks in hospitals. The prevalence of MRSA increased from < 3% in the early 1980s to rates as high as 40% in many hospitals in the Un...

Source: Succeeding in Hospital & Health Systems M&A: Why So Many Deals Have Failed, and How to Succeed in the Future, Booz & Company, March 20, 2013 Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among hospitals and healthcare organizations have been on the rise for several years now. Deals between hospitals, physician medical groups, long-term care facilities, and home health providers abound, with activity l...

BACKGROUND Large-scale cohort studies conducted in Japan do not always include psychosocial factors as exposures. In addition, such studies sometimes fail to satisfactorily evaluate disability status as an outcome. METHODS This prospective cohort study comprised 49 603 (22 438 men and 27 165 women) community-dwelling adults aged 40 years or older who were included in the Residential Registry ...