Virtual reality-based therapies now covered by insurance for some long-term care residents
McKnight’s - Virtual reality-based therapies are now covered by insurance for some New York long-term care residents under a new partnership with an institutional special needs plan. The offering is not available to assisted living residents yet, but coverage is planned for next year.
Observation - It’s a start.
Former Atrium CEO, operator charged in $407 million fraud scheme
McKnight’s - An operator behind Atrium Health and Senior Living and a former top executive were indicted Wednesday on an extensive list of healthcare fraud, tax fraud and money laundering offenses, the Department of Justice announced.
The alleged crimes happened from January 2015 through September 2018, spearheaded by CEO Kevin Breslin and KBWB Operations, doing business as Atrium, at 24 skilled nursing and nine assisted living locations in Wisconsin.
Observation - Money that should have went to patient care didn’t.
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This 102-year-old Ukrainian survived Stalin’s forced famine. Now she is making camouflage sniper suits
CNN - n her 102 years, Liubov Yarosh has survived three famines, including the 1932-33 “Holodomor” when – under Joseph Stalin’s orders – Ukraine’s farmers were stripped of every grain they produced, to feed Moscow’s industrialization and suppress Ukrainian nationalist resistance. Her fury for what is being done to her land and people has spurred her into action. As we spoke inside the house she shares with her daughter, two volunteers arrived to deliver her burlap fabric.
She relishes the tasks she has, tying burlap strings into netting to make camouflage sniper suits to disguise soldiers in vegetation or snow, for Ukrainian soldiers to better kill Russians.
Residential care facility faces $10,000 fine after Iowa funeral director finds woman pronounced dead gasping for air in body bag
CNN - An Iowa Alzheimer’s care facility is facing a $10,000 fine after pronouncing a woman dead who was later found alive when a funeral director unzipped her body bag, according to documents from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.
Observation - you can’t make this stuff up. You know in New Orleans, when they buried people above ground during plagues, etc, they attached a bell to their finger in the off case that if they were still alive they would ring it. Thus the term - saved by the bell.
Social pursuits may protect frail seniors from new disabilities: study
McKnight’s - Engagement in group social activities may protect frail seniors from developing new disabilities and avert untimely death, a new study finds. Clinicians should endorse such behavior to prevent frailty’s progression, investigators say.
As basic health care grows unaffordable, the rich seek eternal youth
WAPO - This is American health care, circa 2023. It’s state of the art and then some — if you’ve got the money. For almost everyone else, any encounter with the medical industrial complex can result in severe financial harm.
Observation - about right. The greed is pervasive. And don’t let those non-profits fool you.
Consolidated health systems offer slightly better care, but significantly higher costs, study finds
BenefitsPro - “One of the key arguments for hospital mergers and practice acquisition was that health systems would deliver better-value care for patients,” Nancy Beaulieu, study first author, told Harvard. “This study provides the most comprehensive evidence yet that this isn’t happening.”
Observation - exactly.
App Finds Songs That Hit the Right Note With Dementia Patients
VeryWellHealth - Walgreens is collaborating with Music Health to provide access to a smartphone app called Vera that causes AI to create personalized song selections for people with dementia.
Observation - Expensive on an individual basis. And these are not custom playlists by AI generated based on information about person and mood.
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Playing golf may be just as healthy or better than Nordic walking for older people
MedicalXpress - Older adults may gain more health benefits from playing golf than participating in regular or Nordic walking, suggests a study published online in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.
Observation - Hmm. Were they using a cart?
Role of tech in senior living evolving from engagement to operations: report
McKnight’s - The use of technology to augment personalized care is growing in the senior living industry, but communities also are looking for operations and administrative solutions, according to a new report.
Observation - this is a very small sample size. And I have observed that solutions that try to be a hybrid and mix engagement and clinical tools are clunky, hard to use, and do not have widespread adoption.
JUST ONE QUALITY CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND BOOSTS DAILY WELL-BEING, STUDY SHOWS
University of Kansas - Conversing with a friend just once during the day to catch up, joke around or tell them you’re thinking of them can increase your happiness and lower your stress level by day’s end.
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9 tips for creating a home that is safe for aging in place
WAPO - It’s never too early to start thinking about how your home can adapt to meet your changing needs over time, as well as what modifications might be required to make it safer, easier to use and more accessible, says Melissa Birdsong, an interior designer and the board chairwoman of Raleigh Village East, a nonprofit organization focused on helping people age in place.
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