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September 8, 2008 12:43:28 PM CDT

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Stories related to: nursing homes

Stories

10 Stories

  • May 2008

    • Antipsychotic Drugs Triple Health Risks in Elderly

      Reuters  |  May 27, 08 8:53 AM CDT

      Antipsychotic Drugs Triple Health Risks in Elderly

      (Newser) - Elderly dementia patients given antipsychotic drugs, even briefly, are three times as likely to end up hospitalized or dead within a month, new research has found. The study looked at 40,000 elderly Canadians, half of them in nursing homes, and found that the drugs increased the risk of heart problems, pneumonia, and falls, Reuters reports. More »

      Tags

      elderly  • Alzheimer's  • dementia  • nursing homes  • antipsychotic drugs  • Zyprexa

    • Slow Medicine Lets Elderly Go More Gracefully

      New York Times  |  May 5, 08 12:12 PM CDT

      Slow Medicine Lets Elderly Go More Gracefully

      (Newser) - In a medical culture seemingly aimed at reviving and resuscitating, the slow medicine approach instead allows elderly patients to weigh the risks and burdens of treatment against the likelihood that it will significantly extend their lives. For many seniors, the philosophy offers the freedom to choose comfort over cure, dying without the companionship of machines, the New York Times reports. More »

      Tags

      health care  • death  • nursing homes  • old age  • eldercare  • geriatric medicine  • end of life care

  • April 2008

    • Nursing Homes Pressure Patients to Forgo Lawsuits

      Wall Street Journal  |  Apr 11, 08 2:39 PM CDT

      Nursing Homes Pressure Patients to Forgo Lawsuits

      (Newser) - Nursing homes are pushing patients to give up the right to sue, writing binding arbitration clauses into standard contracts for admission, the Wall Street Journal reports. The homes say the practice lets them concentrate resources on care instead of costly litigation, which soared in the '90s, but critics charge that vulnerable elderly patients often don't understand what they're signing away. More »

      Tags

      lawsuit  • elderly  • nursing homes  • arbitration  • litigation

  • March 2008

    • Robot Dogs Cheer Up Elderly

      Associated Press  |  Mar 1, 08 8:02 AM CST

      Robot Dogs Cheer Up Elderly

      (Newser) - Robot dogs are almost as effective as the real thing in cheering up elderly nursing home residents, a new study at St. Louis University has found. Once the patients had some time to get used to him, researchers say robot mutt AIBO lowered loneliness levels about as well as a lovable therapy dog named Sparky did in a control group, the AP reports. More »

      Tags

      dog  • elderly  • robot  • robotics  • nursing homes  • loneliness

  • December 2007

    • One of Last Remaining US WWI Vets Dies

      Toledo Blade  |  Dec 22, 07 6:13 AM CST

      One of Last Remaining US WWI Vets Dies

      (Newser) - The oldest-known American World War I veteran—one of only three remaining—has died at age 109, the Toledo Blade reports. J. Russell Coffey, who enlisted in the Army a month before the war ended, was never comfortable with that recognition because he never saw combat. He preferred to be remembered for his accomplishments as a student, an athlete and a longtime educator. More »

      Tags

      US Army  • nursing homes  • World War I  • oldest man

    • Nursing Homes Fight Drug Addiction

      Wall Street Journal  |  Dec 20, 07 1:30 PM CST

      Nursing Homes Fight Drug Addiction

      (Newser) - Despite known dangers—including an increased risk of death—the use of anti-psychotic drugs to control elderly dementia patients has surged, to an estimated 30% of all nursing home residents. Under pressure to cut back, some homes are experimenting with alternatives, like letting distraught patients do what they want to calm down instead of drugging them—even letting some patients help out with others, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

      Tags

      elderly  • dementia  • nursing homes  • antipsychotic drugs

    • Nursing Homes Misuse Meds to Control Patients

      Wall Street Journal  |  Dec 4, 07 3:05 PM CST

      Nursing Homes Misuse Meds to Control Patients

      (Newser) - Understaffed US nursing homes are increasingly turning to antipsychotic drugs to control elderly residents, even though most display symptoms of dementia rather than the psychotic disorders the drugs are intended to treat, the Wall Street Journal reports. Such “off-label” usage defies FDA warnings that elderly patients using the drugs face an increased risk of death. More »

      Tags

      elderly  • Alzheimer's  • dementia  • senior citizens  • nursing homes  • eldercare  • antipsychotic drugs  • rehabilitation center  • psychosis  • elder abuse

  • September 2007

    • Nursing Homes Raise Profits, Cut Care

      New York Times  |  Sep 23, 07 5:04 PM CDT

      Nursing Homes Raise Profits, Cut Care

      (Newser) - Caring for grandma has become big business for private firms that are buying nursing homes and making them profit generators. But to do it, they’ve severely cut staff—sometimes below legal levels, the New York Times found. “Chains have made a lot of money by cutting nurses,” said one analyst, “but it’s at the cost of human lives.” More »

      Tags

      private equity  • elderly  • senior citizens  • private equity firms  • nursing homes  • eldercare  • nursing

    • Nursing Home Owners Acquitted in Katrina Deaths

      Associated Press  |  Sep 8, 07 8:49 AM CDT

      Nursing Home Owners Acquitted in Katrina Deaths

      (Newser) - The owners of a Louisiana nursing home were acquitted of negligent homicide and cruelty yesterday in the deaths of 35 patients who drowned in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The charges were based on the couple's failure to evacuate the home as the storm approached; the defense argued that the government never mandated evacuation and that the area had not flooded in the 20 years of the home's existence. More »

      Tags

      Hurricane Katrina  • Louisiana  • homicide  • patients  • nursing homes

  • July 2007

    • The End Is Near: Hospice Cat Senses Death

      Boston Globe  |  Jul 26, 07 5:40 AM CDT

      The End Is Near: Hospice Cat Senses Death

      (Newser) - An upscale nursing home in Rhode Island is home to a cat that can sense impending death, the Boston Globe reports. Oscar, whose domain is the dementia ward, shows little interest in patients who are ill but not dying. But when he curls up in a bed, the patient usually dies within hours. Caregivers take Oscar's cuddling as a signal to call loved ones. More »

      Tags

      death  • pets  • cat  • nursing homes

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