Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Homes- Flu Virus Response in Long Term Care
As we head in to fall the risk to seniors health living in assisted living or skilled nursing centers rises because of the flu virus. Because of the congregate living conditions in senior care an outbreak can spread quickly. Every year thousands of seniors across the country die related to the annual flu. This year we also have to be concerned with the H1N1 Virus as well. The H1N1 virus is not impacting seniors as much as first anticipated and this may be related to many of them already having anti-bodies built up due to a previous swine flu outbreak in 1973.
Whether it is the H1N1 virus or the annual flu virus the protective measures are the same. If you have a loved one in a long term care setting you should be seeing some movement toward managing the risk of a flu outbreak. Some of the things that I am doing in my community are:
1. Ensuring my staff has received both the annual flu and the H1N1 vaccines. It is critical that everything possible be done to stop the virus from ever entering the facility.
2. Ensuring my residents have received their vaccines.
3. Establishing hand sanitation stations throughout the facility for staff, residents, and guests to use.
4. Communication to families and guests asking them not to visit the community if they are experiencing flu like symptoms.
5. To help ease concerns we are also conducting presentations for families and residents so there is a deep level of understanding of how the flu affects seniors in assisted living and skilled nursing.
The management and prevention of a flu outbreak in a senior care community has to be a concerted effort between administration nursing and the housekeeping team. If you are not seeing similar steps in the senior care community your loved one lives in as described above you should ask what steps are being taken. Hopefully this will give you a good baseline understanding.
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Vernon Roberson, LNHA, MA
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By Assisted Living Retirement Homes, January 12, 2010 @ 8:20 am
I hope you post more articles like this — can’t wait! Loved this post! Your article was very interesting. Wonderful writing style. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Thanks very much.