Long-Term Care Survey Alert
Survey & Clinical News
Revisions to F371 (sanitary conditions) are cooking right along. The Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services recently circulated a draft of the revised survey guidance to stakeholders for comment. According to the draft, an example of a scenario ripe for an immediate jeopardy citation would be one where surveyors find a facility "had a recent outbreak of foodborne illness related to improper food handling practices, including a lack of hand washing after handling raw and cooked meat products, and those practices have continued."
A new study shows infrared light treatment may help people with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. A form of light therapy may help your residents suffering from diabetic peripheral neuropathy, a condition that increases risk for skin breakdown, gangrene and falls. In a recent study, researchers provided an eight-week course of pulsed infrared light therapy (PILT) to patients with long-term, serious diabetic peripheral neuropathy resulting from type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The patients received a total of 24 treatments (three a day for eight week). "PILT improved PPS [peripheral protective sensation] even in patients with long-standing chronic neuropathies whose initial pre-study sensation was not measurable" using a 200-g Semmes-Weinstein monofilament, according to the study abstract. Researchers postulate "infrared light may improve peripheral neuropathies by improving foot perfusion by stimulating nitric oxide production," state the authors in the abstract. Read the study in the May 2006 Acta Diabetologica (www.springerlink.com/content/1432-5233).
DAVE 2 says "Read your RAI manual." DAVE 2 nurse reviewers have been on-site in randomly selected facilities since April. When confronted with MDS inaccuracies, some staff are reporting that they haven't read the RAI manual for years or haven't updated it, according to a recent report on the project at a SNF Open Door Forum. Check often for RAI manual updates at www.cms.hhs.gov/NursingHomeQualityInits/20_NHQIMDS20.asp#TopOfPage.
Long-Term Care Survey Alert
- Pressure Ulcer Prevention:
Reposition Your Skin Program With These Wheelchair Repositioning Strategies
Prevent decubs and F314 tags -- and save staffing time.
You probably already have a turning and [...] - Survey Management:
Cut Off These 23 F Tags At The Pass
Teach staff to identify problems in real time.
Achieving a clean survey requires a daily team [...] - Best practices:
Let The Evidence Be Your Guide For Diagnosing, Managing Pneumonia
Breathe easier with a best-practice plan for tackling this serious condition.
Talk about walking a survey [...] - Pain Management:
Rein In Pain Before Surveyors Pull You Up Short
Follow these 5 expert pain med management strategies.
What your attending physicians don't know about adequate [...] - Medication Management:
Resident Taking Opioid Medication? Preempt This Sentinel Event
Simple prevention can protect your residents and survey record.
Physicians who use opioids to treat [...] - Clip 'N' Save:
Navigate The Pneumonia Care Decision Tree
You won't be out on a limb if you follow best practices.
Source:Evidence-based guidelines for management [...] - Survey Management:
Don't Let Inadequate Pain Management Be A Ticket For F501 Citations
The buck stops with the medical director for ensuring resident comfort.
Your facility will end up [...] - Resident Assessment:
Get A Jumpstart On Your Pain Assessments
The draft F309 survey guidance suggests using this approach.
If you're looking for a little memory [...] - Care Planning:
Rehab Your Therapy Program Before Your Survey Record Needs Rehabbing
Take this quick test and shore up your program if it's on the track to [...] - Clinical Tip:
A Pictorial Symbol At The Bedside Can Stave Off Injuries
This simple strategy can communicate ADL needs at a glance.
Caregivers who try to lift or [...] - Quality Improvement:
Walking In Your Cognitively Impaired Residents' Shoes Can Create A New Rehab Therapy Path
See where this empathy-building exercise leads your rehab and ADL care.
Experiencing how residents with [...] - Survey & Clinical News
Revisions to F371 (sanitary conditions) are cooking right along. The Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services [...]
