A new website is dedicated to patients who have terminal illnesses as a place where they can post their words, both private and public.

Reducing hospital readmissions from nursing centers starts with analyzing the continuum of care—from the hospital setting to the nursing facility transfer, through any events and decisions that may lead to readmission.

In New Jersey, transferring patients across the continuum of care has seen its share of problems regarding continuity and relaying accurate patient information. Developing and implementing a common transfer form to alleviate these issues was sorely needed to improve quality of care and reduce medical errors.

Florida has suffered deeply from the effects of the Great Recession and its aftermath, with once booming housing and construction markets gone bust and even the 12-month-a-year tourism trade unable to prop up an otherwise weak economy that has left nearly 1 million without work.

The reason for the study is that currently available pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments have shown only modest effects in slowing the progression of dementia. The study’s objective was to assess the impact of a long-term nonpharmacological group intervention on cognitive function in patients with dementia and on their ability to carry out activities of daily living (ADLs) compared with a control group receiving the usual care.

Doctors are stressed out, according to a recent national survey of U.S. physicians. Conducted by Cejka Search, the survey found that the majority of U.S. physicians are moderately to severely stressed or burned out on an average day, with nearly 63 percent of respondents saying their stress has risen moderately to dramatically in the past three years.

Public speaking may statistically top the list of “the most common fears,” but a physical therapist working with older adults who have balance issues knows that fear of falling can be stronger than any other worry. Certainly, it’s easy to understand the patients’ concerns; after all, falling can cause injuries leading to complications, additional health problems, and even death.

More than half of patient deaths in the populations served in nursing facilities result from progressive, chronic illnesses and are, therefore, predictable in their timing. By recognizing the advanced stages of terminal disease, health care professionals (physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) can greatly impact the circumstances surrounding their patients’ deaths.

When residents of a California nursing home become the service providers they find a powerful antidote for loneliness and depression in the process.

Loud screams echo in the hallway. A nurse’s attention shifts from the chart she was working on to the room from which the screams are coming. She runs toward the resident and provides verbal reassurance, coupled with physical comfort of rubbing his arm and shoulder. The screams cease. The nurse walks away and resumes charting when the screams echo again. This scenario routinely occurs in long term care settings, with many challenging behaviors such as screaming out, aggression, and sometimes hitting. Such behaviors can increase over time, with staff often habituating a behavior-response pattern.