Dan Frith

Unlike years ago, it is estimated that one-half to three-quarters of all nursing home residents today keep their own teeth into old age – probably the result of greater health awareness and education as well as fluoridated water. This situation has created a predicament for the residents in nursing homes…

We don’t know who paid for this study but the results are something our mothers taught us long ago! The New England Journal of Medicine recently published the results of a Michigan study which concluded that common-sense safety and hygiene practices, often overlooked by doctors, can almost wipe out a…

We recently represented two families whose loved ones contracted serious and deadly infections in an assisted living facility. The facility had an outbreak of Group A Strep – the same bacterium which causes strep throat. Unfortunately it can also cause death, especially in the elderly and infirm. In our cases,…

The development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after surgery is common place. A DVT affects mainly the veins in the lower leg and the thigh. It involves the formation of a clot (thrombus) in the larger veins of the area. This clot may interfere with circulation and it may break…

Most of the nation’s hospital and nursing homes will have to teach their employees how to find fraud and report it to the government under a new federal law. Companies which do at least $5 million a year in Medicaid business must educate all employees and officers on how to…

An 87 year old was admitted to Hillview Nursing and Rehab (a Missouri nursing home) after falling several times at home. The nursing home staff, aware of the falls at home, recommended the use of a lap buddy at all times when the resident was using her wheelchair. A lap…

If legislators want to help patients make informed health care decisions, they should ensure that their state governments provide accurate, up-to-date information about doctors to the public on the Web.A report released in October by the advocacy group Public Citizen commends New Jersey for providing the most detailed information about…

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has created a great resource on the Internet for those families and individuals who are faced with the many questions surrounding the decision to move into a nursing home.What are the options? What services are provided? How do we pay for…

I recently discovered the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The IHI is a non-for-profit organization leading the improvement of health care throughout the world. The organization was founded in 1991 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. IHI is a reliable source of knowledge and support for a never-ending campaign to…