Long-Term Care Survey Alert
STUDY GIVES EDEN ALTERNATIVE MIXED REVIEW
The Eden Alternative, the popular program that brings nature into nursing homes, may not lend itself to short-term studies of how residents fare under the approach, new research suggests. A study recently published in The Journal of Gerontology examined Eden's effect on nursing home residents' quality of life. Researchers compared two facilities, one Edenized and one not, run by the same company. Using MDS and staff report data, the study evaluated residents' immune function, functional status, cognition and survival, as well as the cost of care. Evidence indicated no immediate improvements at the Eden site. In fact, the Eden site reported a significantly higher rate of patients who had fallen, experienced nutritional difficulties or required skilled nursing and hypnotic prescriptions. It also reported higher rates of staff terminations and new hires. Despite these findings, however, the study's authors admit that the data may not reflect the Eden Alternative's long-term potential: It may just take longer than one year to demonstrate these improvements. Qualitative observations from the Eden site indicate how positive the change was for staff and residents, the researchers write. In addition, previous studies of Eden over longer periods of time have found decreased bedsores and restraint use among residents.
Long-Term Care Survey Alert
- Quality of Care:
HOW TO PROVE A PRESSURE ULCER IS UNAVOIDABLE
Even the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services agrees: not all pressure ulcers can be [...] - Quality of Care:
AVOID THESE 6 MISTAKES IN PRESSURE ULCER MANAGEMENT
Surveyors aren't likely to decide that a resident's new or nonhealing pressure ulcer is "unavoidable" [...] - Federal Initiatives:
NEW DAVE INITIATIVE WILL TRIGGER SURVEYS
If nursing facilities are most concerned about the havoc that the upcoming national quality initiative [...] - Clinical Assessment:
WHEN TO SUSPECT A NON-PRESSURE ULCER
All wounds are not created equal. And all the pressure relief in the world won't [...] - Federal Initiatives:
USE THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO PREPARE FOR DAVE
Are you ready for DAVE to start looking at your facility's minimum data sets? That's [...] - FACTS ABOUT DAVE
What and How: The Data Assessment and Verification (DAVE) initiative is a central approach to [...] - Staff Recruitment:
THINK 'OUT OF THE BOX' TO ATTRACT, KEEP STAFF
If your facility has a staffing crisis or high turnover, it's time to get a [...] - Staff Management:
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Is your facility grapevine always rattling with complaints about short staffing, even though you're meeting [...] - Federal Developments:
MEDICARE PACKAGE CONTAINS PARTIAL SNF GIVEBACK
A Medicare prescription drug benefit and reform package passed by the House of Representatives in [...] - Pharmacology:
CRUSHING PILLS CAN BE LETHAL
Did you know that crushing nitroglycerin pills could cause an explosion in your facility? In [...] - Clinical Developments:
NIGHTLIGHTS COULD PREVENT DIABETIC BLINDNESS
The simple act of leaving a light on may save some diabetics' eyesight, a new [...] - Program Evaluation:
STUDY GIVES EDEN ALTERNATIVE MIXED REVIEW
The Eden Alternative, the popular program that brings nature into nursing homes, may not lend [...] - Clinical Developments:
PET THERAPY REDUCES RESIDENTS LONELINESS
Elderly patients may benefit from even short "pet therapy" encounters, a new study suggests. That [...] - Clinical Nutrition:
VITAMIN E-RICH DIETS MAY PROTECT AGAINST ALZHEIMERS
Legumes for lunch? It might be a good idea in the light of a new [...]
