W

ithin this first ECPN issue of 2007 you’ll find articles on the clinical and financial strategies in long-term care that you’ve come to expect, such as the second installment of our series on “Navigating the Medicare Modernization Act” as well as a continuing education (CE) article on preventing the spread of infection from healthcare workers to residents. But you’ll also find some new items designed to broaden our coverage of long-term care.
       The issue contains two new departments for 2007: “ECPN Commerce” and “MIST Therapy^® System: Thoughts on Therapy.” The former provides information on products offered within a particular segment of the long-term care industry—this issue, it’s wound care. The latter is a series brought to you by an educational grant from Celleration, Inc., that offers cases studies on the clinical effectiveness of MIST Therapy^® System, a noncontact, low-intensity, low-frequency, therapeutic ultrasound device to promote wound healing through cleansing and maintenance debridement.
       The issue also contains a preview of the second Symposium on Regulatory Issues for Management in Long-Term Care (SORIM LTC), a conference that brings senior long-term care management together with state and federal officials from the agencies whose regulations directly impact the success or failure of facilities. Conference Chairman Courtney H. Lyder, ND, GNP, FAAN, discusses how the conference will build on the success of its first year. Keep an eye out, too, for articles in upcoming issues examining some of the hot topics, including Pay for Performance (P4P) and the appropriate role of medications in long-term care, scheduled for discussion at SORIM LTC.
       Also included in this issue is news on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grants to promote alternatives to institutional care as well as articles on the following topics: understanding skin tears, planning a year of food-related events, ergonomics and healthy living, risks and solutions related to bed entrapment, and strategies for monitoring fall risk.
       Please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think of some of the new offerings and/or any ideas you have to make the journal more useful and informative. As always, thank you for reading ECPN.