For today’s seniors, diabetes has rapidly become an epidemic. About one in four people over 60 in the U.S. has diabetes, a condition in which the body does not properly process food for use as energy. If diabetes is not adequately managed, it can lead to serious health problems, from stroke and heart disease to kidney failure, hearing loss, blindness, …
If you or your loved one has been discharged from the hospital, ensuring a continued high level of care is key to regaining health, strength, and mobility. Short-stay transitional care facilities provide medical follow-up for patients in their first days after a hospital stay – and can make all the difference between a successful return to home or a rebound …
Part 2: The patient’s perspective Chronic, non-healing wounds have been called a “silent epidemic.” As we explored in our previous blog, problem wounds are often found in post-acute care (PAC) patients. Many PAC patients have chronic conditions such as diabetes and vascular disease that weaken their immune systems and complicate wound healing. If these wounds aren’t properly treated, they can lead …
Part 1: The physician’s perspective About 6.5 million Americans suffer from chronic, non-healing wounds—at an annual cost of $25 billion. Problem wounds are particularly prevalent among patients in post-acute care (PAC) facilities, many of whom have chronic conditions that compromise their immune systems and make healing difficult. “The most common wounds encountered in post-acute care are pressure sores, vascular ulcers, …
It’s a shocking statistic. Worldwide, every 3.5 seconds, someone dies from sepsis. This fast-moving medical complication sets in when the body tries to fend off an infection but attacks instead its own tissues and organs. Today, sepsis is the leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals and the tenth-leading cause of death throughout the country. Determining the risk “Patients at …
It’s been called the “boomerang effect”—patients discharged from the hospital who bounce right back for readmission. Almost 20 percent of discharged Medicare patients are readmitted within 30 days at an annual cost of $15 billion to $20 billion. Often the cause of readmission is patients being discharged before they’re ready or transitioning to an environment, such as the home, where …
With the shift to value-based care and improved cost efficiencies, there has been a decrease in the utilization of skilled nursing services. Stonegate Senior Living is embracing this change in care delivery and offering programs aimed at differentiating itself from local competition. For the last three years, Stonegate has partnered with Dallas-based Care Navigation Services to develop and operationalize proactive …
Part 2: Restoring community Chronic loneliness can be dangerous. As we explored in our previous blog, it has been linked to a host of health hazards—from cognitive decline and the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (ADRD) to hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. To combat the loneliness epidemic, innovators in senior care are taking new approaches to diagnosing and …
Part 1: Assessing the epidemic For America’s over-65 population, loneliness is a slippery slope. More than 40 percent of seniors regularly experience loneliness, according to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study. This feeling of separation and disconnection from others may predict serious health problems and even death, the UCSF researchers find. Given the consequences of loneliness, many in …
Part 2: Seeking the solutions Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (ADRD) is an intricate process. As we explored in our previous blog, poor outcomes, such as too many hospitalizations, negative behaviors, and overuse of psychotropic medications, have been pervasive. Innovators in memory care services are taking new approaches to ADRD focused on person-centered care, improved …
