Influenza Toolkit for Long-term Care

All long term care facilities are required to have an effective immunization program that reflect current standards of practice.  Receipt of vaccinations is essential to the health and well-being of long-term care residents.  Influenza outbreaks place both the residents and staff at risk of infection.  If your facility does have an outbreak, the CDC offers the following guidance. Flu Vaccines must be offered to patients October 1st through March 31st.   Facilities are encouraged to promote 100% staff participation in flu shots to prevent outbreaks.  Got to www.flu.gov for useful information and resources for your Influenza Vaccination Program. The following forms can be used for education, promotion and documentation of your facility’s Immunization Program.  CLICK HERE for the CDC Long-Term Care Toolkit for valuable information. INFLUENZA VACCINE INFORMATION SHEET (English) INFLUENZA VACCINE INFORMATION SHEET (Spanish) POSTER/FLYER 65 YEARS+ (English) POSTER/FLYER 65 YEARS+ (Spanish) POSTER/FLYER HEALTHCARE WORKER (English) POSTER/FLYER HEALTHCARE WORKER (Spanish) Sample Consent Form  

Addiction and Drug Theft in facilities

In May, 2018 a nurse working at a Wisconsin nursing home was charged with 11 felony and misdemeanor charges.  The charges were: intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse, theft, imitation of a controlled substance, possession of narcotic drugs and obtaining a prescription drug with fraud. According to the criminal complaint: A nurse training with the accused nurse witnessed her diverting narcotics.  The nurse trainee said that when he worked with the accused nurse, patients complained of pain even after the nurse gave them their medication.  But when training with other nurses, the trainee said the same residents were not complaining of pain after receiving pain medication. The accused nurse was brought into the DON office and admitted to diverting narcotics but didn’t state the amount of drugs she took or how long she had been doing it.  The accused told the nursing director that she gave the narcotics to her son because he is an addict and becomes violent toward her. An investigation showed that instead of giving residents scheduled doses of hydrocodone or Percocet, the accused nurse was giving them Tylenol.  The accused nurse was in charge of the narcotics cart, and all medications were signed off and dispensed by her to the nurses for administering to the patients. The Director of Nursing reported the theft to

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