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Long-Term Care Nursing Advisor

This bi-weekly e-mail newsletter features information and useful tips on assessing, treating, and preventing commonly-encountered nursing home problems.

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Long-Term Care Nursing Advisor

Issue 23, September 19, 2008

• Notice: Last issue of Long-Term Care Nursing Advisor

  HCPro is sorry to report that this is the last issue of Long-Term Care Nursing Advisor. We thank...

• Policy interpretation

  When the resident communicates a desire to commit suicide, a licensed nurse should:  

• Suicide precautions

  If a resident states he or she no longer wishes to live and intends to harm him or herself, the...

Issue 22, September 5, 2008

• Documentation of restraints

  When residents are restless or agitated and require restraints, documentation must support the...

• Order of documentation

  Additionally, documentation should include the following items, in order:

Issue 21, August 22, 2008

• The incident report

  The incident report is used to alert administrative personnel to problems, gather data, and provide...

• What to include on the incident report

  The incident report for an accident or injury such as a fall should include the following...

Issue 20, August 8, 2008

• Nursing responsibilities for managing pain

  The goal of pain management is to eliminate the cause of the pain, provide analgesia, or both.

• Specific responsibilities

  Nursing responsibilities for assessing, managing, and evaluating effectiveness of pain management...

Issue 19, July 25, 2008

• Understanding Scabies

  Scabies is an infestation or parasitic disease of the skin caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei.

• Scabies incubation period

  In persons without previous exposure, the incubation period is two to six weeks before onset of...

Issue 18, July 11, 2008

• Treatment for skin-tears

  The goal of treatment is to promote healing with the least amount of trauma possible, minimize...

• Treatment guidelines

  Treatment typically consists of the following:

Issue 17, June 27, 2008

• Understanding fractures

  Signs, symptoms, assessment, and documentation of fractures will vary with the type of facture and...

• Assessing and documenting fractures

  Additional signs and symptoms to assess and document include the following: Resident is typically...

Issue 10, May 2, 2008

• Definition of Compartment Syndrome

  Compartment syndrome is a painful condition that occurs when pressure within the muscles builds up...

• Signs and symptoms

  Severe pain, especially with movement or stretching

Issue 9, April 18, 2008

• Definition of hypernatremia

  Hypernatremia is almost always an indication of excessive fluid depletion.

• Signs and symptoms

  Signs and symptoms of hypernatremia can be subtle.

Issue 8, April 4, 2008

• Quality assurance

  The Joint Commission considers eloping a sentinel event, for which the facility is required to...

• Tip of the week: What to ask

  Questions that need to be asked may include:

Issue 7, March 21, 2008

• HCPro, Inc. launches new logo and tagline as part of its new corporate branding initiative

  HCPro, Inc. is launching a new corporate branding campaign designed to reflect the company’s...

• Implementing a behavior management plan

  When implementing a behavior managment plan, you should list approaches on the care plan in the...

• Tips to reduce negative behavior

  Some methods that are helpful in reducing or eliminating negative behaviors are:

Issue 5, March 7, 2008

• Mental and conscious evaluation

  The resident’s level of consciousness and mental orientation are important indicators of...

• Assessing level of consciousness

  To accurately assess level of consciousness and orientation, you should:

• Assessing level of consciousness

  To accurately assess level of consciousness and orientation, you should:

Issue 4, February 22, 2008

• Incident investigation

  All incidents should be reviewed, investigated, and analyzed in a timely manner.

• Learning from errors

  Study and learn from incidents and injuries. Instead of automatically blaming individuals, evaluate...

Issue 3, February 8, 2008

• Pain management

  The goal of pain management is to eliminate the cause of the pain, provide analgesia, or both.

• Nursing responsibilities

  The responsibilities for nurses include assessing managing, and evaluating the effectiveness of...

Issue 2, January 25, 2008

• Defining bruits

  A bruit in the carotid artery is an indication of cardiovascular disease.

• Assessing for bruits

  To assess the carotid artery for a bruit, you should do the following:

Issue 1, January 11, 2008

• Air embolus

  Air embolus is a serious, often life-threatening, complication of IV therapy that occurs when air...

• Signs and symptoms of air embolus

  Signs and symptoms of air embolus include: Shortness of breath Cyanosis Weak, rapid pulse...