The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a fourth phase of its National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections: Road Map to Elimination. The goal of this plan is to prevent the emergency of antibiotic resistant bacteria and prevent the spread of health care-associated resistant…
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OPTIMISTIC Project Cuts 1 in 3 Preventable Hospitalizations
In 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the OPTIMISTIC project, or “Optimizing Patient Transfers, Impacting Medical Quality and Improving Symptoms Transforming Institutional Care.” The purpose of this federally-funded program is to reduce rehospitalizations among nursing home residents. Under the OPTIMISTIC project, nurses and nurse practitioners were…
Social Isolation Increases Risk of Medical Problems
A new study by the AARP Public Policy Institute, Stanford University, and Harvard University reveals that socially isolated adults are more likely to get sicker and die sooner, and have higher health care expenses. Overall, the researchers estimate that Medicare spends $6.7 billion per year on seniors who are socially…
Waiting on Hospice Care Worsens Outcomes
The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society recently published the results of a study about the end of life and hospice care. The results of the study indicated that people toward the end of their lives tend to put off hospice care too long, which can add to their pain…
Safe Driving Tips
Thousands of motor vehicle crashes take place across the U.S. every year, and the state of Wisconsin is no exception. Although you cannot control the behavior and driving habits of other drivers, you can take some simple steps to help you avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of a serious accident.…
Internal Injuries and Wisconsin Auto Accidents
Serious auto accidents often result in internal injuries to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. The most common types of internal injuries include broken ribs, ruptured spleens, ruptures in the abdomen, generalized internal bleeding, and ruptures to other internal organs. The cause of these internal injuries typically is blunt force trauma resulting…
What Are the Right-of-Way Laws in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin, like every other state, has right-of-way laws that govern how motor vehicles move through intersections. The purposes of these laws is help prevent accidents at intersections. At a four-way stop, a driver must yield the right-of-way to vehicles that have entered or are approaching the intersection upon the through…
CMS Hospice Compare Full of Incorrect Information
We previously reported about the launch of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospice Compare website in August, 2017. Experts were concerned about the contents and reliability of the website, as it seemed to give unnaturally high ratings to most hospice providers; more than three quarters of the…
How Can I Hold a Hit-and-Run Driver Responsible?
Unfortunately, hit-and-run accidents are a part of American society, and they can be extremely frustrating, especially when the accident caused you property damage and potentially serious injuries. Even worse, you are not likely to have the opportunity to hold the driver responsible for your losses if police are unable to…
Flu Can Lead to Additional Health Problems in Older Adults
The flu can be dangerous for any individual, but in older adults, its effects can be particularly severe. In fact, after a senior citizen has the flu, he or she will be more susceptible to having a heart attack, stroke, or disability. This increased risk of serious medical conditions can…