Long-Term Care

Long-Term Care Headlines

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  • Trainer’s tip: Good chair positioning begins with the feet!

    Most nurses are surprised to learn that good chair positioning is determined by the placement of the feet.

  • Chair and wheelchair positioning

    The body works best when it is in good alignment. Pain is decreased and the risk of injury is reduced when the resident is properly positioned. When a resident is seated in a chair or wheelchair, pressure on the skin is affected by:

  • Trainer’s tip: Controlling and eliminating bed bugs

    Maintain a high degree of suspicion for bed bugs (and/or scabies) if staff members or residents have rashes, or if the bed linen has tiny blood stains on it. When checking for bed bugs, shining a flashlight and aiming a hot hair dryer into the crevices will help force the insects out. As a temporary control measure, vacuum all carpeting, furnishings, and cracks and crevices in walls and floors thoroughly. When finished, discard the vacuum cleaner bag in a sealed plastic bag.

  • Maintaining a watchful eye for signs of bed bugs

    The common bed bug, Cimex Lectularius, is a wingless, red-brown, blood-sucking insect that grows up to 7 mm in length (about the size of a pencil eraser) and has a lifespan of four months to a year. Although bed bugs do not fly or hop, they do run and multiply quickly. They travel easily from one place to another in luggage, through walls, and hidden in the seams of clothing.

  • Trainer’s tip: Recognizing delirium and the common causes

    If a resident's behavior or mental status is different than usual, suspect delirium. It is easily recognized in alert residents who suddenly develop confusion. In residents with cognitive impairment, the confusion seems to be worse than usual. The first approach in these residents is to increase fluid intake to see if the confusion clears. In the early stages, delirium may be identified by staff members who are familiar with how the resident functions in a variety of situation. Always perform a complete nursing assessment to identify the cause and rule out potentially serious problems. The most common causes of delirium are infectious circulatory, respiratory, and metabolic disorders.

  • The effect of delirium on the elderly

    Delirium is often mistaken for dementia. Delirium is best described as an acute state of confusion. In contrast, mental confusion caused by dementia is "chronic" confusion. Residents who are alert suddenly or progressively become more confused with delirium. When delirium manifests itself in residents with dementia, personnel notice a worsening of confusion, and the resident may be more lethargic than usual. Residents with a history of dementia and impaired renal or cardiopulmonary function are at increased risk. Residents over age 75 are also considered at high risk.