Happy Memorial Day!

ProMed will be closed on Monday, May 31 in honor of Memorial Day. We wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday!

FDA, Cardiac Science Announce AED Recall

Cardiac Science and the FDA are notifying healthcare professionals and consumers of a Class 1 recall of Cardiac Science's automated external defibrillators (AEDs). The affected units might not deliver therapy during a resuscitation attempt, and the malfunctioning might not be detected during the unit's self-tests.

Other problems with the units might include interruption of ECG analysis that prevent shock delivery, failure to recognize pad placement during use and interference or background noise that makes the device unable to accurately analyze the heart rhythm and deliver a shock, even if the ECG analysis was successfully conducted.

These problems could potentially lead to adverse health effects or even death.

Affected models include:

• Powerheart 9300A, 9300C, 9300D, 9300E, 9300P, 9390A, 9390E
• CardioVive 92531, 92532, 92533
• NK 9200G, 9231
• Responder 2019198, 2023440

To learn more, click here.

Honoring the Spirit of Memorial Day at Your Facility

Memorial Day is just around the corner on Monday, May 31. It's always held on the last Monday of May and honors the men and women who lost their lives in military service. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, at last count there were 9,301,560 veterans in the age range of 65 to 90+, many of whom call long-term care facilities home.

Here are a few simple ways to make Memorial Day special at your facility:

• If you have a flag at your facility, it should be flown at half-staff only from sunrise until noon, and then raised in honor of the United States' battle heroes.


• In 2000, Congress passed The National Moment of Remembrance Act, which the president signed into law. It encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to honor those who died serving the nation.


• Make a donation to the VFW for poppies for your residents and encourage them to wear them proudly on Memorial Day. Did you ever wonder how the poppy came to be associated with Memorial Day? According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, two women were immensely moved by the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae, which references poppies growing in between the graves of fallen soldiers. The women then started selling artificial poppies to help orphans and other people left destitute by war. In 1922, the VFW conducted their first nationwide poppy distribution. Since then, the "Buddy Poppy" program has raised millions of dollars to support veterans and their dependents. The poppies are assembled by disabled and needy veterans.

Keep Your Residents' Skin Safe in the Sun

It seems like summer is finally starting to make its way into town! While it's tempting to soak in the sun's rays, elderly people need to take special precautions to protect their skin.

As we age, our skin gets thinner and more delicate. It's also less able to protect and rejuvenate itself. Since no single protectant is 100 percent effective in warding off damaging UV radiation, experts recommend taking a multi-step approach to protect skin.

• Avoid sunbathing and sunburn. Tanning isn't a good idea for mature skin that already experienced a lifetime of sun damage.
• Stay in the shade. Encourage residents to stay on a porch or other shady area when the sun is strongest (between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.).
• Wear sunscreen. Dermatologists recommend applying SPF 30 sunscreen to exposed skin daily, even if your residents aren't planning on going outdoors.
• Moisturize. Elderly skin is likely to be dry, and sun damage and hot temperatures can make it worse.
• Choose protective clothing. Long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants provide great protection for elderly skin. You might also suggest wearing a hat.
• Accessorize! Shield skin from the sun with umbrellas and sunglasses.

Flying High at 87

Every once in a while, we run across a story that reminds us that a large part of how aging affects us has to do with how much we allow it to. Adolph Hoffman's is one of those stories, and we wanted to share it with you.

Adolph, an 87-year-old San Antonio man, competes in the Senior Olympics in the pole vault, high jump, long jump, discus, shot put, javelin, hammer throw and 100-meter and 200-meter running events. At last year's games, he won seven medals in nine events. He's currently gearing up for the 2011 games and working out alongside high school athletes.

Seventy years ago, Adolph and his brother held the state record in pole vaulting - and now he's trying to set it again. The record for his age group is eight feet, and he's regularly hitting seven and a half feet during practice. Despite his age, he's not worried about getting hurt. He points out that when he was pole vaulting in high school, the jumpers fell into sand, not cushions like they have today.

Adolph also plays softball and hardball, which he took up to "get in shape" after a triple bypass in 2001. He currently plays on a team of players 75 years old and older. Adolph's coach estimates that Adolph is the oldest guy in the league.

Just in case Adolph's Senior Olympics aspirations weren't lofty enough, he has another goal - to be the most senior player in the Senior World Series.

To read more about Adolph, click here.

CMS Will Notify Seniors of How New Healthcare Law Will Affect Them

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they will be mailing information to Medicare beneficiaries that explains how they will be affected by the new healthcare reform law.

The mailing will highlight the following:

• The immediate impact of the Affordable Care Act on Medicare beneficiaries
• The one-time $250 check that will be sent to seniors in the Medicare Part D "donut hole" who will not receive Medicare Extra Help as well as additional steps that will be taken to close the coverage gap by 2020
• Preventive care services that will be offered without cost-sharing, such as colorectal cancer screenings and mammograms
• New crackdowns on criminals scheming to scam senior citizens and steal taxpayer dollars

Additional information is available at http://www.medicare.gov/.

Could We See RUG-IV This Year After All?

We heard back in March that RUG-IV's implementation date was being pushed back to October 1, 2011, but a bill making its way into Congress would restore the original implementation date of October 1, 2010.

The bill, known as the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, would also extend a temporary increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) through June 30, 2011 and delay the Medicare physician pay cut for three years.

Congress is expected to vote on the bill this week.

To download a summary of the bill, click here.

Congratulations, Jackie Hannigan!

Congratulations to Territory Manager Jackie Hannigan, the winner of ProMed's Health Contest! Jackie lost 16.2 percent of her body weight during the contest and was awarded $500!

Welch Allyn AED 10 Recall Information

Welch Allyn has recalled specific lots of its AED 10 defibrillator. To learn which lots were recalled and the potential risks associated with them, click here.

If you have purchased affected parts for an AED 10 from ProMed, please contact us at 1.800.648.5190. We will assist you in notifying Welch Allyn of the recalled unit.

Keep Bicycle-Loving Seniors Safe

In honor of National Bike to Work Day, we turned to Livestrong for tips on keeping bicycle-loving seniors safe!

• Special considerations: Keep in mind that seniors might have impairments that other bicycle riders don't, such as balance problems, cognitive issues, slower reaction times and reduced strength, endurance, sight and hearing. Brittle bones are also make it more likely that seniors will be injured in a fall. If these issues are addressed, seniors can continue to ride bicycles for a long time.
• Equipment: Special equipment is available to make bikes safer and more comfortable for seniors, such as racing handle bars that are easier for arthritis sufferers to grip and wider tires for better balance.
• Safety precautions: Remind seniors to wear a helmet and their hearing aids, if applicable. They should also avoid using cell phones, portable music players or other distracting devices.
• Time of day: It's safest for seniors to ride their bicycles during the daylight hours. Impaired vision can make it harder to see at night, increasing the likelihood of accidents.
• Traffic: Seniors should try to avoid riding their bikes when traffic is heavy.
• Other precautions: Senior bike riders might consider riding with a partner or group so that help is present in the event of an accident or problem. If they need to ride alone, it's wise to stay in familiar areas and carry a cell phone for emergency use.

Analysis: Medicare Will Account for More Than 10% of GDP by 2083

A new report from the boards of trustees for Medicare and Social Security estimates that the cost of funding Medicare will surpass that of Social Security and eventually account for 11.4 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

These results are actually worse than originally anticipated. In 2009, Social Security's trustees estimated that the program's "trust fund" would run out by 2041. Updated figures, however, now indicate that it will run dry by 2037. When that happens, the program won't be bankrupt because it'll still be taking in payroll tax revenues, but it will only be capable of paying out about three-quarters of its funding obligations.

The report cites several reasons for the revised estimate:

• The recent recession lowered tax revenue and slashed the returns of Social Security's investment portfolio
• Gross domestic product growth was revised downward
• People are living longer

Social Security's problems actually pale next to Medicare's. By 2083, it is estimated that a full 11.4 percent of the GDP will be spent on Medicare, nearly twice the amount spent on Social Security.

ProMed Power Outage

ProMed experienced a nearly four-hour power outage today at our New Lenox headquarters. We apologize to anyone who couldn't reach us during this time. We're back up and running now and ready to help you!

Illinois RNs: Don't Forget to Get Your Continuing Education Credits!

Hey, RNs in Illinois - don't forget that you need to obtain 20 continuing education credits (CECs) between June 1, 2010 and May 31, 2012 in order to renew your license!

The Illinois Center for Nursing has posted a PDF on education option availability that you can access here. ProMed's Compliance Continuing Education Program also has more than 43 online CEUs available for nurses. Your ProMed territory manager would be happy to tell you more!

Say "Ahhh": Facilities Indulge Residents with Spa Days

Facilities across the nation are pampering their residents from head to toe with spa days that encourage participants to relax and enjoy some TLC.

• Westchester Health and Rehabilitation Center in Westchester, Illinois, offers resident "clients" spa services including massages, manicures, pedicures and facials as part of the facility's holistic "Soul Purpose Program." The spa springs up in Westchester's activity department every Wednesday afternoon. Program participants include the facility's short-stay clients as well as individuals with Alzheimer's.
• In Newburgh, New York, the women's tennis team from Mount Saint Mary College presented "A Day at the Spa" at Elant Nursing Home. The team members provided massages, manicures and facials to about 30 residents at the facility as part of Mount Saint Mary College's community service project, Knights in the Community.
• Monmouth Nursing Home in Monmouth, Illinois, incorporated a spa day into this year's National Nursing Home Week.

Have you tried a Spa Day at your facility? Tell us about it!

Congratulations, Mike Kellenberger!

Team ProMed congratulates Mike Kellenberger on being named our Director of Sales Training, Customer and Employee Relations!

Mike will be the "front man" for all new territory manager training as well as the go-to guy when our territory managers have new ideas, issues or questions.

Bill Proposes New Funding for Adult Day Centers

The Medicare Adult Day Services Act (H.R. 3043) would permit Medicare funds currently designated for home visits or rehab centers to also be used by adult day programs. It's got the support of numerous advocacy groups for caregivers, yet it's currently stalled in Congress.

Currently, after Medicare participants have spent three days in the hospital, they're eligible to receive Medicare-reimbursed post-acute care at either a rehab facility or nursing home. The care is capped at 100 days a year, but it's crucial for individuals who are well enough to leave a hospital but not quire recovered enough to go back to their pre-hospital lives.

The Medicare Adult Services Act would expand this coverage to include reimbursing properly certified adult day health centers to care for post-acute individuals, including transporting them from their homes to the centers and providing physical and occupational therapy and access to social workers.

The New York Times' New Old Age Blog recently posted an in-depth look at the Medicare Adult Day Services Act. Click here to check it out. The AAHSA has also posted an online form for supporters to contact their representatives in support of the bill.

Report: PCPs Need Better Preparation to Care for Older Population

A new report published in Health Affairs discusses the urgency of training primary care physicians (PCPs) on how to provide higher-quality, more cost-effective care to older people with chronic conditions.

The report's authors emphasize that additional education will allow PCPs to "apply principles of geriatrics - for example, optimizing functional autonomy and quality of life - within emerging models of chronic care." They propose that the following policy options be used to drive reform:

• Providing financial support for medical schools and residency programs that adopt appropriate educational innovations
• Tailoring Medicare's educational subsidy to reform graduate medical education
• Invoking state requirements that physicians obtain geriatric continuing education credits to maintain their licensure or to practice as Medicaid providers or medical directors of nursing homes

The report also argues that it would be valuable for geriatricians to broaden their expertise to include educational and leadership skills. These individuals could then serve as educators in multiple disciplines, although this would require changes inside and outside academic medicine.

To view the report's abstract, click here.

The Sweet Sound of Memories

New research out of the Boston University School of Medicine discovered that music can help Alzheimer's patients remember new information.

The study, published in Neuropsychologia, revealed that Alzheimer's patients had an easier time recalling song lyrics when they were accompanied by music instead of simply spoken. Interestingly, though, the healthy control group in the study didn't experience the same memory benefit, which seemingly indicates that the memory encoding and retrieval process of musical information in Alzheimer's patients is fundamentally different than the process in healthy seniors.

To view the study's abstract, click here.

Happy National School Nurse Day!

Since 1972, the Wednesday within National Nurses Week has been designated as National School Nurse Day.

According to the National Association of School Nurses, there's no "typical" job description for a school nurse: "What DO school nurses do? If you ask that question to 50 nurses, you will get 50 different answers, and with good reason! The role of the school nurse is as varied as the spectrum of the rainbow. School nurses work in pre-schools, elementary, middle, and high schools; they work in public, private, parochial, and charter schools; they work in urban, suburban and rural districts; they work in wealthy, middle class, or poverty-stricken areas; they work at the grass roots level; they are coordinators or supervisors, consultants, and educators; they are new to school nursing or they are veterans; they are young and they are not-so-young."

Team ProMed thanks the school nurses of the world for all that they do to keep our children healthy and happy!

Study: Spousal Caregivers of Dementia Patients More Likely To Develop Dementia Themselves

According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, spousal caregivers of dementia patients are six times more likely to develop dementia themselves.

The study, conducted by researchers at Utah State University, followed 1,221 married couples age 65 or older in a rural county in northern Utah. Among the participants, husbands were at a higher risk of developing dementia than wives.

The researchers concluded that "the chronic and often severe stress associated with dementia caregiving may exert substantial risk for the development of dementia in spouse caregivers."

To learn more, click here.

Need Ideas for Celebrating National Nursing Home Week?

National Nursing Home Week started on May 9, but it's not too late to plan a great celebration for your staff and residents!

Here are some great ideas from the 2010 National Nursing Home Week Planning Guide, which you can download here. Each idea ties in to this year's National Nursing Home Week theme, "Enriching Every Day."

Enrichment Through Words

• Grab a Pen and Make a Friend: Establish a pen pal club within your facility or with another facility, high school, volunteer group, etc.
• Poetry Reading: Have an "open mic night" where anyone is welcome to read a poem they wrote or share their favorite poem.
• "Thank You" Note Scavenger Hunt: Encourage residents to write thank-you notes to their favorite staff person or resident and tape the notes all over the facility. Staff members will then find the notes, collect them and read them out loud during a staff appreciation lunch. The staff members could even write a thank-you note back!
• Share Stories with the Veterans History Project: Learn how the veterans in your facility can share their stories with the rest of the world by clicking here.

Enrichment Through Music

• American Senior Idol: Host a version of the popular TV show in your facility! Offer a reward to anyone who participates.
• "Senior Prom": Partner with a local high school to participate in their prom, or host one in your facility!

Enrichment Through Images

• Take Pictures: Encourage staff and residents to make their memories of National Nursing Home Week last by taking pictures with disposable cameras.

Enrichment Through Crafts

• Quilt: Chances are, you already have a quilter in your facility who can assist you with helping other residents unleash their creative ability through fabric. When your quilt is completed, it can be donated to the local library or homeless shelter or kept in the facility as a token from the week.
• Birthday Boxes: Ask residents to decorate a "Birthday Box." These can be shoe boxes, tissue boxes or any small box with a lid. After the box is decorated, have staff and residents write down special notes about everyone and place them in the respective Birthday Box. You could also write notes during the resident's birthday week. After the notes are collected, read them aloud.

Enrichment Through Special Services

• Staff Appreciation Day: Make one day during the week all about staff! Plan a special lunch for them, contact local media or encourage residents to show their appreciation for the staff members closest to them.
• Prayer Service: Invite residents and staff to attend a special service honoring the members of the nursing home "family" that also remembers those who have passed on.
• Mothers and Fathers Brunch: Show all mothers and fathers how special they are by preparing and serving a meal in their honor.
• Memory Garden: Plant a special garden to commemorate the passing of loved ones or friends.

We'd love to hear how your facility is celebrating National Nursing Home Week!

Are You Ready for National Nursing Home Week?

National Nursing Home Week is just around the corner! This year, the celebration runs from May 9-15.
Sponsored by the American Health Care Association (AHCA), National Nursing Home Week is designated as an opportunity to celebrate nursing and rehabilitation facilities nationwide. The theme of this year's celebration is "Enriching Every Day." According to AHCA, "This year's theme cannot be expressed by words alone; it takes being there - seeing and hearing life around you - to appreciate how 'enriching' happens in a long-term care setting, from nursing homes to post-acute care to assisted living facilities."


AHCA has posted suggested celebratory activities on their website. We'd also love to hear how your facility is celebrating! You can leave a comment here on the blog or, if you have a Facebook account, click here to tell us all about your plans!

Happy National Nurses Week!

Today is the first day of National Nurses Week, which is celebrated every year from May 6 through May 12, Florence Nightingale's birthday. This year, the theme of National Nurses Week is "Nurses: Caring Today for a Healthier Tomorrow."

Several days within National Nurses Week celebrate specific groups of nurses. May 6, the first day of the celebration, is also known as National Nurses Day. As of 1998, May 8 was designated as National Student Nurses Day, and as of 2003, the Wednesday of each National Nurses Week is National School Nurse Day.

To learn more about the history of National Nurses Week and download materials to use at your facility, click here.

Happy Cinco de Mayo from ProMed!

Happy Cinco de Mayo from ProMed! We had a great celebration at our corporate office today. Our team really got into the spirit of the day - especially Marketing Production Specialist Patrick Lamorte!

CDC: Many Emergency Department Visits by Nursing Home Residents are Preventable

A new report from the CDC - based on findings from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey - found that a large number of the events that send nursing home residents to the emergency department (ED) are preventable. The report identified conditions and resident characteristics that nursing homes and policymakers might consider targeting to reduce preventable ED visits.

According to the report, 8 percent of U.S. nursing home residents had an ED visit in the past 90 days. Of those residents, 40 percent had potentially preventable ED visits. The number one potentially preventable reason that nursing home residents visited the ED? Injuries from falls.

Here's the breakdown of conditions that accounted for potentially preventable ED visits:

36%: Injuries from falls

19%: Heart conditions

12%: Pneumonia

The remaining 33% was labeled "other conditions" and includes fever, mental status changes, gastrointestinal bleeding, urinary tract infections, metabolic disturbances and skin diseases.

Nursing home residents with a potentially preventable ED visit also tended to have a shorter length of stay at the nursing home and were taking more medications.

To learn more, click here.

Tavenner To Serve as Acting Administrator for CMS

According to a post on the online version of McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Marilyn Tavenner will be serving as the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Tavenner will hold the post while Donald Berwick undergoes confirmation proceedings to become CMS's new administrator. Once Berwick is confirmed, Tavenner will return to her role as CMS's principal deputy administrator. Before she came to CMS, Tavenner was the secretary for health and human resources in Virgina.

Select Covidien Shiley Tracheostomy Tubes Recalled

Covidien is recalling certain lots of its Shiley tracheostomy tubes and custom/specialty tubes among reports of leaks in the tubes' pilot balloons. If there are leaks in the balloons, the cuffs aren't able to hold air, causing ventilation to not work properly and possibly resulting in a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the blood or a sudden increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood, especially if the resident requires assisted mechanical ventilation. The FDA advises that these situations could result in serious injury or even death.

If you have purchased tracheostomy products with any of the affected lot numbers from ProMed, please call Janice at our corporate office for assistance with a replacement. Janice can be reached at 800-648-5190, x 7616.

To view the lot numbers being recalled, click here.