As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is fully implemented, its impact on the business model of acute and post-acute care providers is growing in both significance and urgency. The establishment of ACOs, bundled payments, value-based purchasing and the hospital readmissions reduction program are bringing fundamental changes to healthcare, and providers are scrambling to determine what it means for the future. In a recent interview, Kelly Gasior, Vice President, Strategy and Housing Operations for Trinity ...

Ensuring seniors have the care options they need is critical to the AARP, according to Cheryl Matheis, senior principal and counsel for external affairs at AARP. The AARP has historically supported regulation that establishes quality standards for nursing homes, adult day care, assisted living and home care.The AARP put out a call for RFPs (request for proposal) from agencies to help draw attention to the need for improved access to long-term services and support for senior citizens and people with ...

Norwood, Mass.-based Hospice & Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts (HPCFM), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing and promoting excellence in end-of-life care throughout the state, announced the appointment of three new members and the re-election of one member to its Board of Directors. All officers will serve a three-year term.New board members include: Toni L. Eaton, RN, BSN, MS, is the CEO and president of Old Colony Hospice in Randolph. A registered nurse, she also spent ...

Grand Villa names new executive directors at two of its locations: Delray West in Delaray Beach, Fla., and at Pinellas Park, Fla. Delray West is an independent and assisted living senior residential community. Helen Altieri has been named executive director.  Senior Management Advisors, Inc. (SMA) and ValStone Partners, LLC announced the acquisition of the community, along with an adjacent community now known as Grand Villa of Delray East, earlier this year.Altieri, has 20 years of experience in ...

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is urging the Food and Drug Administration to require vitamin manufacturers to reformulate common multivitamins that contain iron or copper, due to possible links with Alzheimer's disease. "Consumers need to avoid typical multivitamins until manufacturers change the way they are formulated," said Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee. "Otherwise, they may be at risk for a series of common brain disorders, including Alzheimer's ...

Richfield Retirement Community, Salem, Va., has been recognized with a national innovation award for its new rehabilitation center.The Long Term Care LINK Spirit of Innovation Award salutes long-term care providers and senior living communities for their innovation, dedication to improvement, development of best practices and commitment to excellence.Richfield was lauded for renovating an assisted living facility into a 48 private-room rehab center complete with state-of-the-art gym, hotel-like ...

Aside from memory loss and cognitive impairments, often the most difficult aspect of caring for people with dementia is treating their disruptive changes in behavior.With no reliable medications to treat them and limited information for caregivers regarding alternative therapies, these behavior changes are frequently the source of increased upset, stress and burden to families and often result in nursing home placement.Now, with the help of a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health ...

The Foundation of the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards, in partnership with the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA), is proud to announce the awarding of financial support to five young leaders in the field of long-term care administration to attend the 2013 National Emerging Leadership Summit for Healthcare Administrators in Aging Services (NELS). The awardees are: Talia Aramalay (Crest View Senior Communities, Minnesota) Kevin Kilbane (Saber ...

Findings from a new study could help your organization be a resource for families of people with early stages of dementia. "Factors Associated with Caregiver Readiness to Use Nonpharmacological Strategies to Manage Dementia-Related Behavioral Symptoms" was posted in the e-journal International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Some caregivers, according to a study author Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, and a colleague, may not be ready to take action to better manage or modify behavioral challenges of ...

The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF) has received a grant from the ASCAP Foundation to support the organization's expanding aphasia treatment program. A member of the CenterLight Health System, the non-profit IMNF is one of the world's leading authorities and pioneers in clinical music therapy treatment, research, professional training and education. Music therapy has been proven to be effective in helping people with aphasia regain or improve their ability to speak, but is often not ...

Integral Senior Living (ISL), based in Carlsbad, Calif,, announced that Terry Ervin has been named Regional Vice President of Operations. In his new role, Ervin is responsible for the operations of communities ranging from independent living to memory care.Prior to his position with ISL, Ervin was a vice president of operations with Aegis Living, where he was responsible for the operations of assisted living communities in Northern California. Ervin also participates in a variety of industry ...

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) announced The American Society of Medication Safety Officers (ASMSO) will be incorporated within the Institute. ASMSO will be renamed the Medication Safety Officers Society (MSOS) to provide a framework for meeting the needs of the MSO community on an international scale.  ASMSO, a multidisciplinary organization founded in 2005, is devoted to serving medication safety officers and medication management leaders. Its goal is to provide an ...

The not-for-profit United Health Foundation released "America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2013."The report focuses on 34 measures of senior health, including physical inactivity, obesity, self-reported health status, poverty, drug coverage, hospital re-admission rates and flu vaccinations. The data analyzed is from more than a dozen government agencies and private research groups. The data is presented to compare and rank states based on these metrics. America's Health Rankings® Senior Report ...

The Foundation for Physical Therapy has received $50,000 from the Section on Geriatrics of the American Physical Therapy Association. The Section on Geriatrics allocated $25,000 toward the Marilyn Moffat Endowment Fund for Geriatric Research and $25,000 toward the Center of Excellence for Health Services/Health Policy Research. The Foundation for Physical Therapy was established in 1979 as a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and delivery of physical ...

A vaccine to prevent shingles may reduce the infection in older people by half, according to research published in PLOS Medicine, according to an article on HealthCanal.Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the herpes varicella-zoster virus (chickenpox), and is an infection of a nerve area and results in a blistering rash on the skin, which is also painful. Most people who get shingles are over the age of 50. Researchers found the vaccine reduced the rate of shingles by 48%, yet of the study ...