October Medical Director Report 2026
CHCA Vesta Bowden Award In September, I was honored to receive the Colorado Health Care Association’s Vesta Bowden Award for Outstanding Service in the Long-Term Care Community. This recognition really…
PRN antipsychotic update in 2025 state operations manual
Download Summary Pharmacy Services and Psychotropic Medications: CMS SOM Appendix PP (F755, F756, F757, F605) OverviewF755F756F757F605 (was F758)Full F605 textSources Pharmacy Services and Psychotropic Medications What the CMS State Operations…
Guardianship Bill of Rights (HB 26-1100)
DOWNLOAD-Guardianship Bill of Rights – Update effective August 12, 2026 Effective August 12, 2026 — relevant to residents with a court-appointed guardian Governor Polis signed House Bill 26-1100 on May…
Cloudy Urine, Pyuria, and UTI: A Long-Term Care Reference
Suspected urinary tract infection is the most common trigger for antibiotic use in long-term care, yet the majority of these episodes do not represent a true, treatable infection. This report…
Assessment of older adults with diminished capacity; handout for psychologist
published by theAmerican bar Associationand the American psychiatric Association
Emperic Antibiotic Prescribing in LTC
Presentation by Nori Rickaby PharmD and Jennifer Connelly PharmD. 5-5-26 - PALTmed-Colorado (CMDA) - Matching the Drug to the Bug: Empiric Antibiotic Prescribing in Long-Term Care LTC Antibiotic Presentation V3-5-5-26Download
Valproic Acid for Behavioral and Psychiatric Symptoms in Dementia (BPSD) – Not Really
I really could not find any evidence base that supports utilizing valproic acid for dementia related behaviors. Most resources also believe that the risk outweighs the benefits and the consensus…
Telligen Midwest QIN-QIO
QIO Partner Letter (1) (1)Download Midwest QIO Nursing Home Support and ServicesDownload Midwest CMS QIN-QIO Cybersecurity Flyer Jan. 2026Download
March 2026 – Medical Director Report
.. PALTmed Colorado (CMDA) 31st Annual Conference April 24, 2026 More information available here. Registration Page Pikes Peak Ethics Committee Meeting Survey updates COVID / Influenza / RSV update Pneumonia…
Gabapentin for Pain:
Things We Do for No Reason: Prescribing gabapentinoids for pain Journal of Hospital Medicine: Things We Do for No Reason- Full Article What are gabapentinoids? The evidence against routine use:…
February Medical Director Report
Pikes Peak Ethics Committee Meeting Falls: Special Focus for Surveyors Regulatory Updates Vaccination Documentation COVID/Influenza/RSV Tapering Antidepressants: What Strategy Works Best? For adults with remitted depression, gradual tapering of antidepressant…
January 2026 Medical Director Report
Pikes Peak Ethics Committee Meeting Physician Visits Regulations Facility Assessment COVID & Influenza Pharmacy Long-Term Care Pharmacy Crisis Could Affect 80% of Nursing Home Residents – Skilled Nursing News An…
2025 GOLD Report – Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease – GOLD
2025 GOLD Guidelines can be foud here — > https://goldcopd.org/2025-gold-report/ Oral Steroids is no longer recommended from long term chronic treatment of COPD. GOLD-2025-Report-v1.0-15Nov2024_WMV.pdf Evidence suggesting that oral corticosteroids increase…
AHA/ACC 2022 HF Guidelines
2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Heart Failure Guideline: Key Perspectives – American College of Cardiology HFpEF LVEF > 50% HFrEF LVEF <40% Drugs: #458 Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction – The Curbsiders…
Restless Legs Syndrome: New guideline provides treatment recommendations for RLS
Evaluate for and treat underlying conditions that can exacerbate RLS • Iron Deficiency • OSA, PLMS • CKD, ESRD • Alcohol, caffeine, antihistaminergic, serotonergic, antidopaminergic medications • Diabetes, COPD •…
Multiple adverse outcomes associated with antipsychotic use in people with dementia: population based matched cohort study | The BMJ
https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj-2023-076268
Don’t Lose Your Head: Altered Mental Status (AMS) and UTI
Clinical-Pearl-Altered-Mental-Status-and-UTIDownload
Fifteen Things Physicians and Patients Should Question in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care:
Choosing Wisely | AMDA (paltc.org)
Alzheimer’s Hope – Making Life Better TODAY
Meet all dementia patients where THEY are. https://www.alzheimershope.com/10absolutes/six.php
Lecture: UTI or ASB?
Washington State Dept of Health Antimicrobial Stewardship of UTI in the LTC Setting. UTI lecture #1 Slides Washington State Dept of Health Debunking the Myths Associated with UTI Lecture Video…
Legal and Ethical Considerations of Artificial Intelligence for Residents in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care – Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(24)00527-9/fulltext
Infection Prevention and Long-term Care Facility Residents | LTCFs | CDC
https://www.cdc.gov/long-term-care-facilities/about/index.html Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training PPE in Nursing Homes PPE in Nursing Homes to Prevent MDROs PPE in Nursing Homes: FAQs about Enhanced Barrier Precautions Respiratory Virus Toolkit
Centennial Peaks Hospital | Psychiatric & Behavioral Care
https://centennialpeaks.com/
Preventing Infections in Your Nursing Home Community – YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HXINPYt_uo
Stop Checking Keppra Leveles
Routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of levetiracetam is generally not helpful and is not recommended for standard dosing decisions. Levetiracetam dosing is guided primarily by clinical response—seizure control and tolerability—rather…
Antibody responses to SARS2 vaccine in nursing home residents support a Bi-annual update schedule – PubMed
COVID titers begin to decay in about 6 months in the elderly. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41581480/
Joint CPG on BZD Tapering
The JOINT CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE ON Benzodiazepine Tapering https://downloads.asam.org/sitefinity-production-blobs/docs/default-source/guidelines/benzodiazepine-tapering-2025/bzd-tapering-document—final-approved-version-for-distribution-02-28-25.pdf?sfvrsn=5bdf9c81_1
Office of Inspector General Exclusions List
Exclusions Program | Office of Inspector General | Government Oversight | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services OIG has the authority to exclude individuals and entities from Federally funded…