âTogether we survive. Together we walk hand in hand.â
These are some of the lyrics to the motivational song, âAlive,â created by Ricky Peña, vice president of life enrichment activities for New Jersey-based Marquis Health Consulting Services, and his colleagues.
Marquis provides program and operational services to nursing homes in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Florida, and its employees this year turned to song to encourage the staff and residents of facilities it supports.
Life directors collaborated over multiple Zoom sessions throughout most of January to write the song collaboratively. Residents were also able to participate in the Zoom sessions to follow the process of creating the song.
Several organizations, including one dedicated toward feeding seniors, received some sizable donations â to the tune of nearly a half million dollars â courtesy of Vital Life Foundation, the charitable arm of Northwest-based operator Marquis Companies.
The foundation in mid-May donated $450,000 to more than 12 nonprofit organizations throughout Oregon. The contribution included sending funding to two organizations that many of Marquis Companies staff and residents have a long history of volunteering with â Meals on Wheels People and Friends of the Children-Portland.
Meals on Wheels People, which serves more than 5,000 seniors in the Northwest, received a $175,000 contribution, while Friends of the Children – Portland got a $125,000 contribution.
Executive Decisions A telephone call out of the blue has helped 202-bed Central Island Healthcare slash its rehospitalization rate, capture about $150,000 in bonus government payments and earn a No. 1 rating among the nationâs 15,000 certified skilled nursing facilities. The secret ingredient for this metro New York provider? Embedded paramedics who connect with off-site, contracted physicians…
Nursing home COVID cases down 82% since December; doctors credit vaccine
U.S. nursing homes reported a peak of nearly 6,000 COVID-related deaths in a single week of December 2020. Those were down to 2,200 in a single week of February. Author: Galen Ettlin Updated: 6:10 PM PST March 3, 2021
OREGON, USA Positive COVID-19 cases and COVID-related deaths in U.S. nursing homes are dropping, and doctors credit the vaccine.
People living and working in nursing homes were some of the first in line for vaccinations.
Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), said prioritizing ongoing vaccination efforts in those facilities is critical. His organizations represent 14,000 long-term care facilities nationwide.
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Margene Haworth, left, receives a COVID-19 vaccination from McMinnville paramedic Elle Miller, Feb. 5, 2021 at Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg, Ore.
Oregon quietly reached a monumental milestone last week in the fight against COVID-19.
First doses of the vaccine for COVID-19 have reached almost every nursing home, assisted living and memory care facility in the state, according to the pharmacies distributing it.
But it’s still hard to evaluate how successful the effort has been: Getting the shot is voluntary, and the state has yet to release data on vaccination rates for residents and staff in long term care.
Phil Fogg, the CEO of Marquis Companies, a health care firm that owns one of the largest chains of nursing home and physical rehabilitation facilities in Oregon, calls the vaccine a salvation.