Geriatric ECHO: Communication Skills for COVID Pandemic: Advance Care Planning and Vaccines
This presentation (1:01:51 minutes) by Takeshi Uemura discusses advance care planning and vaccines amidst COVID in the perspective of communications. By the end of the presentation, learners should be able to: (1) describe the basic structure of advance care planning amidst the COVID pandemic; (2) respond to patient's and family's emotions with empathic statements; (3) describe how to explore patient's values; and (4) list the key communication skills to address concerns/questions about the COVID vaccine. (Presentation starts at 6:00 minutes.)
Family Caregivers
This series of articles won the 2018 ASHPE Bronze Award for Best Special Supplement. They were written to help nurses provide family caregivers with tools to manage their loved one’s health care at home. Produced in cooperation with the AARP Public Policy Institute, each article includes an informational tear sheet and links to educational videos for caregivers.
Source: American Journal of Nursing, Continually Updated
Need to Knows
Need to Knows provide older adults and their families with important information to enhance their hospital or nursing home stays. This webpage provides numerous documents describing this crucial information for patients and families to consider for a variety of topics.
Source: Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) , 2022
https://nicheprogram.org/resources/need-to-knows
Use It or Lose It: Exercises for Older Adults
As we age, physical activity helps us attain our goals, maintain our functioning, and promote comfort. The videos on this web page include strength, balance, and flexibility exercises, which can help prevent falls and hip fractures. In addition, routine exercise can help prevent heart disease, reduce arthritis pain, and improve mood, sleep and blood sugar control, in addition to many other health promoting effects. If you prefer not to follow a video, an instruction sheet (PDF) provides several daily exercises appropriate for older adults who can stand with minimal or no support.
What Is Really in the Medicine Cabinet? The Unspoken Impact of Prescribing Opioids to Older Adults
This webinar (1:01:33 minutes) presented by Tisha M. Smith discusses the trends and fallout related to prescribing opioids in this country and why people are being prescribed the medications. She also explores and describes some of the unintended consequences of prescribing opioids. By the end of this webinar, learners should be able to: (1) list community-based/virtual resources for help with opioid addiction; (2) identify some of the unintended consequences of prescribing opioids to elderly patients; and (3) describe how opioid use often leads to overdose and even death.
Challenges Facing Older Adults Due to the Opioid Epidemic
This webinar (1:14:44 minutes) presented by Ann M. Olin discusses the many challenges older adults are facing due to the opioid epidemic, their own addiction, their adult children’s addiction, and not being prescribed medications when most needed. She also provides an overview of Lifespan’s Geriatric Addictions Program. Finally, you will hear from an older adult patient about their experience with opioids and their journey to recovery.
Opioid Overdose Prevention-- Narcan Training
This webinar (57:41 minutes) presented by Charlotte Crawford discusses how to prevent opioid overdose in older adults in addition to providing narcan training. By the end of this webinar, learners should be able to: (1) recognize two primary signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose; (2) list the steps in properly administering Narcan; and (3) state two reasons the individual experiencing the overdose should be transported to the hospital for further care.
Source: Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center (FLGEC), 2021
Connecting Care Through Telehealth: Long-Term Services and Supports
Connecting Care Through Telehealth is an online course designed to inform and improve best practices when using telehealth and virtual services in long-term services and supports (LTSS) settings. Informed by the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms framework, content is tailored for providers and care-teams, residents/patients, and families and caregivers within skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, and home health and hospice organizations.
Maximizing Quality of Life across the Cognitive Continuum
This presentation (58:50 minutes) by Susan McCurry discusses how to maximize the quality of life across the cognitive continuum of care for older adults.