Staying active is an important factor in feeling independent. Nursing home residents benefit from activities that exercise their bodies and their minds, while providing entertainment. Valuable activities may include physical exercise, crafts and...
According to the Fisher Center Foundation for Alzheimer's Research, about one in 10 Americans over the age of 65 and nearly half of all Americans over 85 have Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive form of dementia that...
When you are assigned the task of finding a nursing home for a loved one, you may feel overwhelmed. The place that you choose will be responsible for the full-time care of your family member. If you know of anyone who has a loved one in a nursing...
The federal government passed the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 to protect the rights of nursing home residents and their families, according to the nursing home advocacy group, CareWatchers. One of the most important aspects of this legislation...
According to the statistics published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2006, 26 percent of all deaths were due to heart disease. Patients who have mild to moderate heart disease can be treated with medications, surgery and...
A facility providing care through rehabilitation and nursing is called a nursing home. These facilities cater to individuals with disabilities, who are ill or recovering from injury. A majority of nursing homes provide care to elderly patients,...
A urinary tract infection, commonly referred to as a UTI, is an infection of the urinary system. The infection can take place in the kidneys, bladder or urinary tract. Women are more prone to suffering from UTIs due to the urethra being closer to...
Individuals affected by the common cold may experience sneezing, a stuffy nose, cough and a sore throat. Symptoms of a cold may appear two or three days after infection and can last for two to 14 days. The common cold rarely leads to serious...
The level of care provided in a nursing home typically is dependent on a doctor's orders and the parameters of the patient's insurance coverage. Nursing homes, also sometimes referred to as long-term care facilities, provide nursing care and...
Doctors are the primary medical professionals who determine when a patient needs placement alternatives to home discharge. However, doctors call on the expertise of the other medical professionals involved in the patient's care. Occupational...
Malnutrition caused by insufficient protein intake is called protein-energy undernutrition or protein-calorie malnutrition. For sufferers to not get enough protein, it usually means they also do not get enough calories in general, or...
Many patients have reported feeling more relaxed and able to recover once they are back in the comfort of their own home. Home healthcare is an area of the medical industry that is designed to assist patients with getting back to their own homes....
Bedsores, also known as pressure sores and decubitus ulcers are common among bedridden individuals. When a person lies in the same position for an extended period, the blood flow can become restricted, causing the skin to break down and a bedsore...
The LVN, or licensed vocational nurse, is critically involved in the health and welfare of a large spectrum of people. Among them are the elderly at home or in nursing homes; the patients in hospitals; and the disabled or sick. To practice in...
Lavandula angustifolia, more commonly known as lavender, is included as an ingredient in many products such as soaps, cosmetic items and candles for its pleasant scent. The blue-violet flowers of this plant contain fragrant oil that can be...
Pneumonia is an acute inflammation of the lung tissue. Symptoms will vary depending on the micro-organisms causing the pneumonia. A chest x-ray along with the patient's signs and symptoms are used to determine if pneumonia is present. A sputum...
Resistance bands, originally developed to rehabilitate older nursing home patients, allow you to build muscle strength and definition from home or on the road. The lightweight and portable bands are a cheaper alternative to dumbbells, weight...
Parallel bars are commonly found in the rehab departments of hospitals and nursing homes. Patients who are learning how to walk again after a stroke, spinal cord injury or amputation often begin the rehabilitative process with the parallel bars....
The body needs protein to meet the energy requirements necessary for many of the biological processes that keep the body healthy and strong. Proteins are made up of amino acids that are linked together. According to the Vegetarian Society website,...
As you age you lose muscular strength and lean muscle mass, which is called sarcopenia. Dr. Wayne Wescott, a senior strength specialist, completed a study using 19 senior patients and discovered that after 14 weeks of strength training the...
A nursing home is a medical care facility that houses patients who are unable to care for themselves or are in need of supervised, around the clock medical care. A nursing home should be able to provide its patients with the resources they need to...
Home healthcare is a growing part of the medical industry. As the average age of patients continue to rise and the length of hospital stays decrease it is becoming even more important to access quality home health services so that patients can...
Many people face a moment in their lives when they must make the very important and difficult decision regarding the care of a loved one: nursing home or home care? You must consider many factors, in a very realistic fashion, when making this...
Recovering from a debilitating illness or taking care of someone who is very ill can be time consuming and difficult. Obtaining outside help to get through a life-altering event may be necessary. Using the services of home health care nursing can...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.5 million people ages 65 years and older lived in nursing homes in 2003. Medicare reports that 17,000 nursing homes meet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service certification...
Vitamin D is one of the thirteen vitamins your body needs in regular amounts to keep functioning. Its specific function is to enable your body to process calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining your teeth and...
Flexible rubber bands used to create resistance during strengthening exercises originally were designed for elderly nursing home patients who had difficulty lifting weights, but needed some additional resistance in their workouts. The flexible...
Conventional wisdom says cranberry juice is good for urinary tract infections. Even newspapers periodically report that nursing home patients and assisted living residents are regularly served cranberry juice as a preventative measure. With...
The human body is an organic machine that takes in fuel, puts out waste and keeps itself clean in various ways. Ear wax is one of its self-cleaning methods, according to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. People do not always realize...
Amnesia is a condition that affects the memory. There are many possible causes for amnesia, and amnesia may occur for different lengths of time. Learn about the symptoms, possible causes, and treatment options for amnesia in this video.
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the endocardium, the inner layer of the heart, including the heart valves. Learn more about endocarditic in this health video.