The Other SAD: Summer-Onset Seasonal Affective Disorder

When you think of seasonal affective disorder, chances are you associate it with the shorter, darker days of fall and winter. However, for about 10 percent of people with the disorder, the onset of spring and summer can trigger symptoms. Experts aren't exactly sure why this happens, but longer days and increasing heat and humidity could play a role.

Symptoms of summer-onset seasonal affective disorder, also known as summer depression, include:

• Anxiety
• Trouble sleeping
• Irritability
• Agitation
• Weight loss 
• Poor appetite
• Increased sex drive

Symptoms might start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses. 

While it's not uncommon to feel down, people who are depressed for days at a time and lack the motivation to do activities they normally enjoy should see a doctor. 

To learn more, click here. 

Fist-Bumping Spreads Fewer Germs Than Handshakes or High-Fives

If you want to spread friendliness but not germs, a new study suggests that fist-bumping is the way to go.

According to the study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, fist-bumping spreads significantly fewer bacteria than either handshaking or high-fiving.

During the study, participants immersed a sterile-gloved hand into a container of germs. Once the glove was dry, they exchanged a handshake, fist-bump or high-five with another sterile-gloved participant. The receiving gloves were then immersed in a solution to count the number of bacteria transferred during contact.

The researchers found that handshakes transferred about twice as many bacteria than high-fives, and significantly fewer bacteria were transferred during fist-bumps than high-fives.

To learn more, click here.

Spotlight on Protective Underwear

Matching a resident with the best disposable incontinence product for their needs can be a daunting prospect. ProMed is here to help. Today we're shining a spotlight on one popular option, protective underwear.

Protective underwear is ideal for active residents and can be pulled up and down like real underpants, enhancing resident dignity. It's also a great option for users in a bowel and bladder program, for toilet training or for restless, disoriented residents.

ProMed offers two protective underwear products under our exclusive Embrace® brand.

Embrace Adult Skin Caring Underwear with Leakage Barrier has an exclusive stretch panel that allows the product to fit close to the body for a discreet fit and a wearing experience similar to real underwear. The leakage barrier provides the ultimate defense against accidents while ultimate-absorbency polymers help keep residents dry and odors in check.

Embrace Adult Skin Caring Underwear features a premium dual core with a high-loft, non-woven acquisition layer for fast absorption. The breathable, cloth-like cover provides exceptional comfort . When it's time for a change, tear-away sides make removal a cinch.

To learn more about either of these products, as well as our complete Incontinence Care Management line, contact your ProMed territory manager, give us a call at (800) 648-5190 or visit us online at promedsupply.com.

Study: Empowering CNAs, Family Members Can Improve Care Quality

A new study has found that involving CNAs and family members of nursing home residents in decisions can lead to improved service.

The researchers analyzed managerial decisions of nursing home employees and how they related to quality. To gather responses, surveys were sent to 1,000 employees at 33 nursing homes and to the primary family member of each resident. The questions on the surveys related to areas such as menu plans, activities and expanding facilities.

The researchers found that when nursing staff had the power to make decisions, service quality tended to improve. The empowerment of CNAs had an even greater effect than the empowerment of nurses.

To learn more, click here.

Enteral Feeding Daily Care Checklist

Even the most experienced caregivers need to brush up on their skills from time to time. We encourage you to print out this Enteral Feeding Daily Care Checklist and share it with your staff. Are there any elements of proper enteral care that are being overlooked at your facility?

• Check the resident for any pain, discomfort or pressure around the tube exit site.
• Check the tube exit site for skin irritation, inflammation or other signs of infection, gastric leakage or formula leakage.
• Rotate the external retention disk one quarter turn each day to relieve pressure on the skin and allow for aeration.
• Clean the tube exit site, gastrostomy tube and its external retention ring.
• Check the height of the external retention ring with the resident in both the sitting and supine positions. The retention ring should lie just on top of the skin. It might need to be adjusted if it is too tight on the skin or too high off the skin.
• Verify placement of the tube before every feeding, or several times a day for continuous feeding. This is done one of four ways: by checking the graduation marks, aspiration of gastric contents, air auscultation or, if there are any questions, by X-ray verification.
• Verify that the resident has received the amount of fluid during the past 24 hours that he/she should have received according to the physician’s orders (allow flexibility up to 150cc unless an exact fluid intake is critical for the resident).
• Change the enteral feeding bag and/or spike set per facility policy/manufacturer’s guidelines, or at least every 24 hours.
• Ensure the irrigation syringes on the bedside are labeled with the resident name, date and usage.
• Provide mouth care, including teeth, gums and tongue.

Remember, if a recently placed G-tube is pulled out, the tube tract will begin to close within two to four hours unless a new G-tube is inserted into the gastrostomy tract.

Professional Medical can meet all of your facility’s enteral feeding needs. We offer pumps, enteral nutrition, accessories and in-servicing to ensure that your residents are receiving the best possible care. To learn more, give us a call at (800) 648-5190 or visit us online at promedsupply.com.

New Bill Could Affect Housekeeping Pay, Scheduling

A new bill proposed in both houses of Congress has the potential to impact long-term care facilities.

The "Schedules that Work Act" would require facilities to provide, in writing, the "minimum expected" numbers of work hours that certain low-wage workers, including housekeeping staff at long-term care facilities, can anticipate working each month. Facilities would also have to provide a work schedule a minimum of two weeks in advance.

The bill also calls for certain payment requirements that would kick in for last-minute schedule changes, including one extra hour of pay if a schedule is changed with less than 24 hours' notice, unless the change is due to the unforeseen unavailability of another worker. The bill also calls for extra pay for split shifts and minimum payments for employees who are on-call for shifts.

To learn more, click here.

Furniture Solutions

Did you know that ProMed offers complimentary custom design services? We work with the best brands in the business to help you make your dream facility a reality. To learn more, contact any of our knowledgeable territory managers or give us a call at (800) 648-5190.

Sister Natalie is thrilled with Rosary Hill's new chairs!

A custom chair for Rosary Hill

Rosary Hill's chairs and complementing table tops 

Create a Homelike Environment with Our Textiles and Linen

Whether you're on a tight budget or looking to provide linens just like the ones your residents enjoyed in their own homes, ProMed has your solution. Our Textiles and Linen product offering includes bath, bed and dining linens as well as textile products designed exclusively for the healthcare market.

We offer:

• Reusable and disposable pillows
• Standard, premium and knitted sheets
• Bath blankets
• Bed blankets and spreads in both patterns and solid colors
• Standard and premium terrycloth products in a wide variety of colors
• Multiple styles of clothing protectors
• Reusable underpads
• Linen accessories, such as hampers, storage carts and bags

To learn more about ProMed's Textiles and Linen product line, contact your territory manager, give us a call at (800) 648-5190 or visit us online at promedsupply.com.

Study: Common Arthritis Drug Prevents Worsening of Alzheimer's

A common arthritis drug, Etanercept, might be capable of doing double duty. According to a newly published study, individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease did not deteriorate in terms or cognition or behavior when they were given Etanercept every week for six months.

Etanercept blocks a blood protein that is released as part of an inflammatory response. High levels of this protein have been associated with worsening Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers are calling for further trials.

To learn more, click here.

Study: More RNs Delaying Retirement

Research has found that registered nurses over the age of 50 are working an average of 2.5 years longer than RNs in previous decades.

From 1969 to 1990, about half of RNs worked until age 62, and 10 percent remained working until 69. Between 1991 and 2012, however, 74 percent of nurses worked until the age of 62 and almost 25 percent worked to 69.

The researchers attributed this increase to the recession as well as the delayed retirement of baby boomer RNs. They also noted that this trend isn't unique to nursing.

To learn more, click here.

Protect Diabetic Feet This Summer

While it might feel great to kick off your shoes and feel the grass beneath your feet during the summer, it's important that people with diabetes remember they're more prone to foot-related complications and continue to take measures to prevent them.

Here are four tips to protect diabetic feet during the summer:

1. Forget the flip-flops. While flip-flops and other sandals allow feet to feel cooler, they're not supportive. Instead, consider a breathable, well-fitted athletic shoe that offers both support and comfort.
2. Don't overlook small cuts and scrapes. Many diabetics underestimate the havoc that can be wrought by a scrape, open blister or superficial cut. Diabetes lowers the body's natural defense against bacteria, thereby opening the door for cellulitis to set in. This infection can quickly spread into the bloodstream from a seemingly small wound on a foot or leg. Diabetics are a higher risk for cellulitis than non-diabetics.
3. Keep skin clean and dry. Fun at the pool and beach or any activity that results in sweating can result in extra skin moisture, which in turn can lead to an overgrowth of skin fungus and potentially an athlete's foot infection. If the infection makes its way into the foot skin through cracks and fissures, cellulitis can result.
4. Control blood sugar. When blood sugar is normal, the potential for foot complications is significantly lower. In the summer, this might mean saying no to the barbeque, pie, ice cream and other warm-weather goodies that pop up at celebrations.

Google, Novartis Pair to Create Blood Sugar Monitoring Contact Lens

Photo credit: Getty Images

Google has announced plans to partner with Novartis, a European drug maker, to develop a "smart" contact lens that has the ability to monitor the wearer's blood sugar.

Novartis's eye care unit, Alcon, has struck a deal to license the smart contact lens technology from one of Google's research divisions and use it to develop new products. The prototype lens uses sensors and a radio antenna thinner than a human hair to monitor blood sugar. Although Alcon has not stated how this data would be transmitted, the goal is to make it available for upload to smart phones and other devices.

To learn more, click here.

Featured Product Category: Dietary Care

ProMed has everything you need to meet your residents' individual nutritional needs, whether they're receiving enteral feeding, have a medical condition that requires special supplementation or just need to consume extra calories, fiber or protein.

Our Dietary Care product category includes:

Enteral pumps and accessories
Our exclusive Compliance® enteral pump is accurate, reliable and easy to use. We also offer spike sets, bag sets, feeding tubes, irrigation kits and other essential accessories.

Nutritionals
ProMed offers enteral and oral nutrition products for a wide variety of needs, including sole source nutrition, calorically dense and high-protein formulas, pediatric nutrition and more.

Thickened liquids
For residents who have difficulty swallowing, we stock a variety of thickeners as well as pre-thickened liquids.

We also provide an exclusive Enteral Delivery Program in-service guide to our customers. This guide takes you step by step through using the Compliance enteral pump and includes a handy list of related accessories to keep on hand.

To learn more about our Dietary Care products, contact your ProMed territory manager, give us a call at (800) 648-5190 or visit us online at promedsupply.com.

The Nose Knows: Could Sense of Smell Predict Alzheimer's?

According to new research, your sense of smell might be a predictor of your likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease.

In two separate studies, researchers found that people who were unable to identify certain odors were more likely to experience cognitive impairment. They reasoned that brain cells that are tied to sense of smell are killed in the early ages of dementia.

The researchers hope that their findings could help develop a "smell test" for doctors to use in the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Earlier detection can lead to interventions and treatment that could slow the disease's progression. Currently, doctors are able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease only after it has caused significant brain damage.

To learn more, click here.

Do You Have a Senior Summer Survival Kit?

Elderly people often have more trouble dealing with summer heat. Senior Helpers, one of the largest in-home senior care companies, recommends creating "Senior Summer Survival Kits" to help your residents and loved ones cope with hot weather. 

These kits are low-cost and easy to assemble. Examples of contents include: 

• A reusable water bottle to encourage proper hydration
• Copies of all prescriptions and health insurance cards
• Phone numbers of healthcare providers and information about any health conditions
• Sunscreen (at least SPF 30) to prevent serious burns
• Multivitamins to keep the immune system strong
• Hand-held fans 

To learn more, click here. 

DOJ Announces Elder Justice Roadmap

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a new initiative that seeks to provide additional oversight to combat elder abuse. The Elder Justice Roadmap defines elder abuse as any "physical, sexual or psychological abuse, as well as neglect, abandonment and financial exploitation."

Research suggests that one in 10 Americans over the age of 60 has experienced elder abuse or neglect and that people with dementia are at a higher risk.

The Elder Justice Roadmap was developed using input from hundreds of public and private stakeholders whose feedback was used to determine the project's top five priorities, which are:

1. Awareness: Increase public awareness of elder abuse, a multi-faceted problem that requires a holistic, well-coordinated response in services, education, policy and research. 
2. Brain health: Conduct research and enhance focus on cognitive (in)capacity and mental health - critical factors both for victims and perpetrators. 
3. Caregiving: Provide better support and training for the tens of millions of paid and unpaid caregivers who play a critical role in preventing elder abuse. 
4. Economics: Quantify the costs of elder abuse, which is often entwined with financial incentives and comes with huge fiscal costs to victims, families and society. 
5. Resources: Strategically invest more resources in services, education, research and expanding knowledge to reduce elder abuse. 

To assist in meeting these goals, the DOJ has developed an interactive online curriculum to teach legal aid and other civil attorneys how to identify and respond to elder abuse. The Department of Health and Human Services is also supporting the mission by developing a voluntary national adult protective services (APS) data system.

To learn more, click here.

ProMed Receives HQAA Re-Accreditation

We’re proud to share with you that ProMed has received re-accreditation for DMEPOS products and services by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation.

This accreditation, which is good for three years, allows you to purchase products from us with confidence and the knowledge that ProMed meets quality and industry-focused standards. According to the HQAA, in order to receive this accreditation, ProMed had to show a “dedicated commitment of demonstrating high standards of quality in business and patient care.”

Provide Best-In-Class Care with Compliance Incontinence Management

Are you looking for a solution that will help you ensure your residents are using the incontinence management products that best fit their needs? Do want it to be easy to use and not require purchasing any expensive software or hardware? Last but not least, would you like it be available at no cost?

You can have everything you’re looking for – and more – when you choose Compliance Incontinence Management.

Our exclusive, customizable online tool allows you to size, track and manage your incontinence products. After logging in, the program will take you step by step through assessing your residents’ needs, choosing the best products for them and running a variety of detailed yet easy-to-understand reports. Because Compliance Incontinence Management is Web-based, you can log on anywhere you have Internet access!

As a registered user, you’ll have access to the following valuable reports:

• Resident Assessment List 
• Resident Product List 
• Monthly Distribution
• Order Calculation Worksheet 

We’re confident that Compliance Incontinence Management will help you improve care, save time and reduce costs associated with addressing incontinence at your facility.

Your ProMed territory manager is ready to tell you more and assist you with Compliance Incontinence Management at any time. To get started, contact your territory manager or give us a call at (800) 648-5190.

Keep Residents Safe and Cool This Summer

After a comfortable Fourth of July weekend, the heat is fully cranked up here in Chicagoland! Are you taking steps to prevent heat-related emergencies at your facility? We assembled the following list to help you make sure you have all your bases covered. 

Make sure your building is summer-ready 

• Make sure that the temperature in your facility is safe and comfortable.
• Keep residents indoors in the air conditioning during heat waves.
• Close blinds or curtains to keep direct sunlight from entering rooms.
• Turn off unneeded lights (they emit heat).
• Use extra circulating fans to keep to keep air moving within your facility. Avoid using fans directed at individuals when the ambient temperature exceeds 100° F.

Be ready for anything 

• Many states issue Hot Weather Bulletins. Monitor the television or radio for important local heat-related announcements and be sure to follow your state's protocols during warm weather.
• Review your facility's emergency disaster plan. It should include:
• Up-to-date emergency telephone numbers
• Contingency plans in case the facility's air-conditioning system goes out
• An evacuation plan in case residents need to be moved to a "cooling center
• Be aware of the outdoor heat index (a measurement of what the hot weather "feels like") and take appropriate precautions.
• Remember that exposure to full sunshine can increase the heat index by up to 15 degrees.

Keep residents hydrated

• Consider establishing a hydration station in the facility, where water and other fluids are always available to residents and staff.
• Encourage residents to drink plenty of fluids. Water and fruit or vegetable juices are best.
• Offer residents extra fluids at regular intervals.
• Popsicles or freeze-pops are another alternative to fluids.
• If the resident has a fluid restriction, ask the physician for specific orders during hot weather.
• Avoid caffeine or sodas because these cause a person to lose more body fluid.

The Power of Hydrogen Peroxide

Clorox Healthcare Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectants are the fastest non-bleach disinfectants your facility can buy – and now they're available from ProMed!1

Why should you choose Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide products?1

Efficacy. Both the ready-to-use spray and wipes offer fast kill times on more than 40 microorganisms. They have more EPA-registered kill times for antibiotic-resistant organisms than two of the leading competitors combined. They also have a Norovirus kill claim, which the most common non-bleach competitors do not.

Speed. Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide products offer the fastest non-bleach disinfecting times available. Most bacteria and viruses are knocked out in between 30 seconds and one minute.

They create a more pleasant environment. Because they don't contain bleach, Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide products don't produce any harsh fumes or odors, so they're safe for use around sensitive residents.

They're a great value. The wipes keep larger surface areas wet for longer, using fewer wipes than the competition. This helps to eliminate costly re-wiping to achieve kill times.

They're perfect for both hard and soft surfaces. Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide products are EPA-registered for use on soft surfaces such as curtains, chairs and couches. They’re also cleared for use on the majority of hard surfaces, are noncorrosive and will not degrade plastics or laminated surfaces.

Professional Medical has begun to stock the complete line of Clorox Healthcare Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectants. To learn more about the benefits these products can bring your facility, contact your ProMed territory manager, give us a call at (800) 648-5190 or visit us online at promedsupply.com.

Reference
1 Clorox Professional. Clorox Healthcare Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectants: Quick Facts. Available at: http://www.cloroxprofessional.com/products/clorox-healthcare-hydrogen-peroxide-cleaner-disinfectants/at-a-glance/. Accessed June 25, 2014.