September 2009 - Posts

Reliable Nursing Home Information Lacking
September 29, 2009 11:52 AM by Heather Simons

Reliable information on the quality of nursing homes is hard to come by these days, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times . Currently, a Web site called Nursing Home Compare , which was created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Read More...

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Salsa at 3 a.m.?
September 24, 2009 10:23 AM by Maureen Salera

This morning, Good Morning America ran a segment about a program that allows patients with Alzheimer's or dementia to stay active all night long. The program, which is billed as the first of its kind, takes place in the Hebrew Home for the Aged, Riverdale, Read More...

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Caring for Seniors in Rural Areas
September 24, 2009 9:31 AM by Liz Rosto

Providing quality health care to people in remote and rural areas is a challenge. Fortunately for some seniors, a new study shows that cognitive testing by telephone is generally as effective as in-person testing. The study, which will appear in the International Read More...

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ALFA-Backed Amendment Passes Senate Finance Committee
September 23, 2009 1:11 PM by Heather Simons

A press release from ALFA today announces that the Senate Finance Committee accepted an amendment by Senator Bill Nelson to Senator Max Baucus' health care reform legislation that would eliminate prescription drug co-payments under the Medicare Part D Read More...

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Not Just Part of the Job
September 17, 2009 10:24 PM by Maureen Salera

Most people figure that work-related injuries are just part of the job for nurses. With all that lifting, turning, repositioning and transferring that nurses do, injuries abound. In fact, a report on the American Nurses Association Web site indicates Read More...

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More Robots for Seniors
September 11, 2009 3:58 PM by Adkins-Ali Carrie

Two things many seniors can be hesitant about-exercise and technology-are coming together in Taizo, the Japanese fitness robot. Taizo weighs about 14 pounds and stands two feet tall. It can do about 30 moves, mostly while sitting down. It will sell for Read More...

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Still Alice
September 10, 2009 10:11 PM by Maureen Salera

My book club recently started reading Still Alice , a novel by Lisa Genova. The book chronicles a 50-year-old woman's experience with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. In doing some research on the book, I came across the author's Web site, and found the Read More...

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Taking Aim at Safety
September 10, 2009 11:34 AM by Liz Rosto

"We can make health care safer. Not just a little safer, a lot safer," The Joint Commission President Mark R. Chassin, MD, MPP, MPH, said in a press conference today announcing the launch of a new center to improve patient safety. The Joint Commission Read More...

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Guest Blog: "New Leadership Methods Needed if Person-Centered Care to Blossom"
September 4, 2009 3:34 PM by Liz Rosto

The following is a guest blog by Anthony Cirillo: The Joint Commission recently emphasized the need for more involvement from healthcare administrators, executives and trustees in preventing medical errors. It also recommended using successful methods Read More...

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Report Outlines How Health Reform Will Help Seniors
September 4, 2009 2:54 PM by Heather Simons

A recent report at HealthReform.gov outlines exactly how health insurance reform, if passed, would strengthen health care for seniors and long-term care residents. "America's Seniors and Health Insurance Reform: Protecting Coverage and Strengthening Medicare" Read More...

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A Living Will: Her Take on Health Care Reform
September 3, 2009 1:10 PM by Maureen Salera

My last blog focused on a report that indicated that some elderly people are anxious about the proposed health care reform. But here's another side to that story: An 82-year-old woman who has COPD wrote an article for The Washington Post about why she Read More...

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