Long Term Care Law

Health Care Fine Art

My friend and physician, Henry Domke, is a professional photographer who specializes in health care fine art. He photographs nature in ways that most of us would not even imagine. My favorite picture is one he gave my husband and me of a coneflower (echinacea purpurea). Henry says a client purchased this same picture for a 26-foot wall mural. I would love to see that wall because the colors are fantastic.

Henry just started a new blog and has inspired me to start writing again on my blog. For example, Henry writes about health care art and how it affects a person’s mood and health:

"What struck me was how similar their results are to what scientific studies have shown for healthcare. Ulrich & Gilpin summarize some key ideas on what art is best for HealthCare at the end of their Chapter “Healing Arts” in the book “Putting Patients First”

Here are some of their top suggestions:

• Representational landscap
• Calm water
• Calm weather
• Visual Depth with openness in the immediate foreground
• Landscapes depicted during the warmer seasons
• Landscapes with low hills and distant mountains

Their description of what is ideal for HealthCare settings is virtually identical to the survey results of Komar and Melamid. What is ironic here is that Komar and Melamid are Russian-born American Conceptual Artists. How odd that they would come up with the painting that is the exact representation of what research says is needed for HealthCare."

I think Henry's pictures would be great for many health care settings, including long term care facilities.

Living Healthy Podcasts

Steve Mays (podcaster extraordiaire) and Henry Domke (physician and artist) collaborated on their Living Healthy Podcast.  They discuss almost every disease known to man in 25-minute settings.  They might not have discussed every disease, but just about any disease or ailment that effects most people.  Steve interviews Henry and asks the questions you might ask your doctor if he had time to chat for 15-30 minutes (Henry would but not all doctors would or could spend that amount of time). 

Some of the topics discussed are over-the-counter medications, osteoporosis, back pain, sleep apnea, anxiety, cholesterol, and prostate cancer.  As you can see, a wide-variety of topics are covered.  I found these podcasts very informative and useful (especially the one on poison ivy). 

I downloaded them to my Ipod but they can be heard directly from the computer if you don't have an Ipod.

Higher Dose of Vitamin D May Reduce Risk for Falls in Nursing Home Residents

A recent article in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society reports that nursing home residents with a high intake of vitamin D have fewer falls.  The article reports that in a study of 114 nursing home residents, most of whom were in their mid-to-late 80's, residents taking 800 IU of Vitamin D daily had a 72% fewer incidents of falls than those taking placebos.  The study, lasting 5 months, also included residents taking 200 IU, 400 IU and 600 IU daily but there was no significant reduction in falls for residents in those groups.   The study had some limitations but overall the results are promising.  J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55:234-239

I received notice of this information from Medscape, an Internet news source for medical news.  It is a free service but you have to register to receive it.

Civil Lawsuit for Failure to Follow Advance Directive

Court TV will air the retrial of a civil suit brought by the family of a 92-year old woman against her physician who allegedly ordered resuscitation efforts against the woman's wishes as set out in her advance directive.   According to Court TV's website, Madeline Neumann did not want resuscitation efforts.  However, when she was found unresponsive after a seizure, her physician ordered nurses to call 911 and initiate CPR after staff could not locate her advance directives.  Ms. Numann was intubated and on a ventilator and a feeding tube for a few days until they were finally removed.  She died shortly thereafter.  The family sued the physician in a civil case for negligence, breach of contract and battery (because Numann's hands were restrained for a while).

This case illustrates the importance of having readily accessible advance directives and a way to identify easily whether a person has a DNR order.  Various groups have discussed standardizing color codes -- red for DNR, green for resuscitate.  However, to date there is no national standard for color coding patients' records or name bands to show code status.  To prevent unrequested resuscitation, health care provides should educate its staff, including agency staff, of its system identifying a person's code status.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer

This blog is Barbara Miltenberger’s individual site and reflects her personal views.  It does not necessarily represent the views of her law firm or clients, and is not sponsored or endorsed by them. Barb created this blog to publish information related to health law with emphasis on long term care and fraud and abuse issues.  However, no representation is made about the accuracy of the information, which is provided for educational purposes only.

Use or reading of this blog site does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice from or advertising by Barbara Miltenberger.   Barbara Miltenberger does not wish to represent anyone desiring representation based upon viewing this blog site in a state where this blog site fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state.  In no case should this blog site be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state.