By Richard Best By Richard Best Every year, between 1 and 3 million serious infections occur in nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities and assisted living organizations. That number stands to grow with baby boomers quickly aging and needing additional care. As more patients…<\/span><\/p>\n
\nEvery year, between 1 and 3 million serious infections occur in nursing homes, skilled nursing
\nfacilities and assisted living organizations. That number stands to grow with baby boomers
\nquickly aging and needing additional care. As more patients enter long-term care settings, it’s
\ncritical to make sure infection control is a top priority in these organizations in order to keep both
\npatients and staff safe and healthy. Long-term care patients often have compromised immune
\nsystems due to their age and comorbid conditions, making them less able to fight infection. As
\nsuch, elderly patients frequently contract diseases that younger or healthier individuals might not.
\nFor example, a young, healthy person with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) probably will not
\nprogress to active TB disease. However, an elderly patient who has previously acquired LTBI is
\nmuch more susceptible for active TB disease to develop. Because of patients’ increased
\nvulnerability, it can be very difficult to control infections in long-term care settings if an
\norganization (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"