Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Insomnia predicts nursing home admission, study finds

Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)

 

Seniors who have insomnia are more likely to be admitted to a nursing home than those who experience quality sleep, according to a recently published study.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health utilized the Health and Retirement Study, which is a biennial survey of more than 26,000 Americans who are 50 and older.

Respondents who had symptoms of insomnia in 2006 were more likely than other survey participants to be hospitalized, admitted to a nursing home or need home healthcare by 2008, the researchers found.

“A relationship was even found between insomnia symptoms and hospitalization as well as use of any of the three health services after accounting for common medical conditions and elevated depressive symptoms,” said lead author Christopher Kaufmann, MHS, a doctoral student with the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health.

Preventing HAIs in long-term care

Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)

 

Preventing the spread of MRSA, CRE and other hospital-acquired infections(HAIs) is quickly becoming a top priority in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Caregivers need to be ever vigilant to ensure that hands are washed, gloves are worn, personal protective equipment procedures are followed and a litany of other precautions are taken to protect patients, their families, and themselves. In addition to the human cost, nosocomial infections  in the U.S. add approximately $40,000 in medical costs per patient due to longer hospital stays, readmission, and further treatment.¹

Residents living with diabetes have weakened immune systems that make them more susceptible to MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant infections. Those in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities are especially vulnerable, as this population is prone to developing skin wounds that easily spread bacteria. In fact, 85% of MRSA outbreaks occur in healthcare facilities.

The CDC recommends that facilities pay particular atttention to cross-contamination points--the surfaces touched by an infected patient which become the main vectors for the spread of MRSA, C. diff, and VRE. Studies have shown that a surprisingly high percentage of presumed-clean blood pressure cuffs that are shared among patients [in our facilities] house these organisms …² As a result, the CDC has issued guidelines … recommending the use of single-patient blood pressure cuffs.³

Some hospitals charge vastly more for same care WITH SEARCHABLE TABLE

Excerpt from: The Oakland Press (click for full article)

 

The average charges for treatment of heart failure and shock in 2011 were $12,295 at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester but $16,710 at William Beaumont Hospital in Troy. Meanwhile, the average Medicare payment to the hospitals was $4,159 to Crittenton and $4,325 to Beaumont.

The average charges and payments are part of a national database released Wednesday through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and part of a push by the Obama administration to make the health care system more affordable by making it more transparent and accountable.

Released was hospital-specific charges for more than 3,000 hospitals across the country that receive inpatient Medicare payments for the top 100 most frequently billed charges.

The average charges and payments by hospital by treatment are searchable below.

Doctors’ Errors: They Happen More Than You Think (And Can Hurt You)

Excerpt from: AARP (click for full article)

 

Until it happened to him, Itzhak Brook, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University School of Medicine, didn’t think much about the problem of misdiagnosis.

That was before doctors at a Maryland hospital repeatedly told Brook his throat pain was the result of acid reflux, not cancer. The correct diagnosis was made by an astute resident who found the tumor  —  the size of a peach pit  —  using a simple procedure that the experienced head and neck surgeons who regularly examined Brook never tried. Because the cancer had grown undetected for seven months, Brook was forced to undergo surgery to remove his voice box, a procedure that has left him speaking in a whisper. He believes that might not have been necessary had the cancer been found earlier.

“I consider myself lucky to be alive,” said Brook, now 72, of the 2006 ordeal, which he described at a recent international conference on diagnostic mistakes held in Baltimore. A physician for 40 years, Brook said he was “really shocked” by his misdiagnosis.

Medicare Pulls Back Curtain On Hospital Bills

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

When it comes to health care, the biggest of the big data are all about Medicare.

So, it's kind of a BIG deal when the government releases what individual hospitals charge Medicare — and what they actually get paid — for the most common diagnoses and treatments.

In a first, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services .

A quick spin through the data shows that what hospitals in the same town or state charge for the same procedure is often very different. And, as previous studies of anonymized data have shown, there are big variations from one part of the country to another.

Political battle over Medicaid expansion may cost Michigan hospitals

Excerpt from: Detroit News (click for full article)

 

The outcome of a political battle over Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed Medicaid expansion could have serious consequences for Michigan hospitals, particularly the Detroit Medical Center.

Snyder is among eight Republican governors to break with his party in support of the Medicaid expansion, which is part of Obamacare. And like GOP governors in Arizona, Florida and Ohio, he's been fighting Michigan's Republican-controlled Legislature for support of the expansion.

As part of the proposed expansion, Snyder has recommended eliminating a $20 million payment to the DMC, which the health system has received since 2008 because of its large share of impoverished patients. The DMC cares for 25 percent of Michigan's Medicaid patients, and 40 percent are either on Medicaid or don't have any insurance.

“Patients With A Brush” showcases artwork by patients with disabilities at Rancho Los Amigos

Excerpt from: Press-Telegram (click for full article)

 

The artwork of patients with disabilities at Rancho Los Amigos is on display at St. Mary’s Medical Center’s Health Enhancement Center in Long Beach.

Department of Justice News/5 Settlements regarding ADA Violations

Excerpt from: NCSILC (click for full article)

 

The Justice Department announced yesterday that over the past four months it has reached five settlements to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The agreements resolve allegations that these five health care providers – including a hospital, skilled nursing facilities, a rehabilitation center, and a doctor’s office — violated the ADA by failing to provide effective communication to people who are deaf or have hearing loss in the provision of medical services.

The five settlements, Monadnock Community Hospital,  Manassas Health and Rehab Center, Gainesville Health and Rehab Center, Center for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, Inc., and Northern Ohio Medical Specialists Healthcare are part of the Department of Justice’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, a partnership of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s offices across the nation, to target enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities.

NH hospital to set up program to aid deaf patients

Excerpt from: boston.com (click for full article)

 

A New Hampshire hospital has entered into a settlement agreement with the federal government to resolve allegations it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide sign language interpreters and other aids to help the deaf or hard-of-hearing.

The Monadnock Community Hospital of Peterborough admits no liability. It has agreed to establish a program to ensure it provides effective communication to deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.

The hospital also has agreed to pay $5,000 Amy Dauphinais, who is deaf and communicates primarily through sign language. She alleged that she was unable to communicate adequately with hospital personnel while she was receiving medical treatment in 2010.

Veterans Affairs Officials Offer Reassurance About Troubled Hospital

Excerpt from: The New York Times (click for full article)

 

Senior officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs said on Wednesday that they have begun taking steps to fix problems at an embattled veterans medical center here, including hiring new senior leadership, adding primary care doctors and reviewing X-rays and CT scans that might have been misread several years ago.

“There’s been some negative publicity,” Joe D. Battle, the medical center director, said during a public meeting called after recent reports of problems at the hospital. “We’re working to change that.”

But his and other officials’ assurances did not go over well with some of the veterans in the packed auditorium near the Capitol here, drawing skeptical questions and a few catcalls.