For months, families and operators of long-term care facilities have been telling me about the indirect toll the covid-19 pandemic has taken on residents. Not on those who have sickened or died from the virus, but on those whose quality of life has been severely harmed by the social isolation it caused. Now, we are beginning to learn more about [...]
What has it been like to live in a nursing home during the covid-19 pandemic? Because access to facilities is so limited, it is hard to know. But, for the first time, a survey of residents tells a grim story of loneliness and isolation: 90 percent said they never left their campus, 60 percent said they never even went outside [...]
Discharge planning is often a broken link in the chain of care for hospital patients. Older adults and others with complex care needs nearly always need follow-up after they are discharged. They’ll almost certainly have to take new medications. They may need bandages changed after surgery, or physical therapy after a stroke. Unfortunately, they and their families rarely get the [...]
Here is a political mystery: At least 44 million Americans are caring for aging parents or other relatives and friends. That’s more than one of every six adults in the US—an enormous voting block. Yet, their interests are largely ignored both in Washington and in state capitals. Now, the Altarum Institute, a non-partisan, Washington-based research organization, has come up with [...]
Broad-based, integrated, community-wide initiatives can help keep seniors out of the hospital, says an important new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, done by a team led by Dr. Joanne Lynn of the Altarum Institute’s Center on Elder Care and Advanced Illness is new evidence that by working together, hospitals, physicians, social workers, nursing homes, [...]