The coronavirus pandemic is a nightmare for nursing homes, their staffs, residents, and their families. While we know much less about them, the situation is likely similar for Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) and other residential care for older adults. As of March 30, more than 400 of 15,000 US nursing facilities had an outbreak of coronavirus—among residents, staff or both-- [...]
The other day, someone asked me whether, given the coronavirus outbreak, her 93-year-old aunt should go a skilled nursing facility for rehab following a week-long hospital stay. Her question is an important one: What should you do if you or a family member are living in a nursing home or assisted living facility (ALF), or may need to go to [...]
One of every three older Americans falls every year. Among those 75 and older, the number of falls-related deaths tripled to more than 25,000 from 2000 to 2016. Even after adjusting for age, the mortality rate for falls roughly doubled over that period. Of every 100,000 people age 75 and older, 122 will die from a fall. Falls not only [...]
Mom fell. Those are two words we never want to hear, but if you have an aging parent, there is a good chance you will. What do you do? Falls are the leading cause of injury and death among older adults in the US. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that in 2014, older adults fell 29 million times, resulting [...]
There is no doubt that the widespread over-use of opiods has become a serious public health problem in the US. But I worry that older adults with palliative care needs may become unintended casualties of efforts to reduce the use and accessibility of these powerful drugs. The opiod problem is real. Nearly 30,000 Americans died from use of these drugs [...]