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Available data, although fragmentary, indicate that infections impose a large burden on long-term-care facilities (LTCFs) in the United States. Endemic infections occur with frequencies estimated to range between 1.64 and 3.83 million per year. These estimates rival or exceed the annual tally for nosocomial infections in acute-care settings. Infections associated with outbreaks caused by respiratory, gastrointestinal, and antimicrobial-resistant pathogens burden LTCFs even further. As judged by antimicrobial use, transfers to hospital, and mortality figures, infections in LTCFs are not trivial. Moreover, annual costs associated with these infections appear to exceed $1 billion. Recognition of the burden associated with infection in LTCFs helps to identify research priorities for this rapidly growing area of healthcare.

Objectives: To describe the outcome of nursing home (NH) care for a previously established cohort of residents with active, inactive or no alcohol use disorder (AUD), and to examine demographic variables, health services utilization, mortality and drinking behaviors in this group., Design: Retrospective cohort study with participant interviews at NH admission and 3 years later., Setting: Urban Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and Nursing Home Care Unit (NHCU)., Participants: Patients older than age 50 admitted consecutively to a VA NHCU between July 1991 and February 1993 who completed a structured interview, N = 117., Main Outcome Measures: AUD as determined by DSM-III-R criteria. Demographics, health services utilization and mortality as abstracted from the VA medical record., Results: Health service utilization as measured by care episodes was not significantly different in the three groups (active, inactive and no AUD), but subjects with AUD had documented health services use related to alcoholism, including hospitalizations for alcohol-related illness, placements in long-term care facilities to control drinking and death from alcohol-related causes. The mean age at death was significantly younger for study participants with active or inactive AUD compared to those with no AUD: 67.7, 70.4 and 77.9 years, respectively (p < 0.004). Of the 21 participants with active AUD at NHCU entry, 11 resumed drinking after discharge and six still met criteria for active AUD 3 years later., Conclusions: The subset of NHCU patients with active AUD continued to incur alcohol-related hospitalizations and institutionalizations following NHCU discharge and suffered early mortality relative to their peers. Effective models of care for this subset of patients should be sought.

The misuse of alcohol or drugs is a common and frequently neglected problem among nursing home residents. The misuse of prescription medications is particularly prevalent, but tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs are all subject of misuse by nursing home residents. This article reviews the epidemiologic and clinical aspects of substance misuse in nursing homes, including alcohol, illicit drugs, tobacco, and pyscho-active medications. Regulations regarding the prescription of psycho-active drugs in nursing homes is also discussed.

Despite the considerable challenges to providing high-quality rehabilitation in a long-term care facility, growing demographic and fiscal pressures are likely to push the nursing home into the forefront of rehabilitation for the frail elderly. Model programs have been implemented in recent years that present alternative ways to increase access to skilled services and improve quality of care in nursing homes without a drastic increase in costs. The teaching nursing home program has supported projects to make longterm care facilities centers for education, innovative clinical care, and research, thus bringing nursing homes into the mainstream of the medical establishment. A majority of US medical schools have recognized the need for training in long-term care and have formed affiliations with nursing homes. The Department of Veterans Affairs has a large national system of nursing homes, which has made a significant contribution to the training of health professionals in many fields. Demonstration projects such as the Social Health Maintenance Organization and On Lok have sought to decrease the fragmentation of health care services for the elderly and bring nursing homes into a continuum of care. The adoption of the OBRA regulations is building a base for comprehensive assessment and improved provision of care in nursing homes nationwide. Nursing home rehabilitation has the potential to decrease institutionalization in the short-term resident, whereas maintenance therapy can improve quality of life and decrease the cost of caring for patients who must be institutionalized. But to achieve this potential, significant barriers must be overcome. Negative attitudes about aging and nursing homes percolate through all levels of health care from lack of reimbursement at the federal and state levels to the professional priorities that continue to favor "high-tech" medicine and stigmatize nursing homes and those who work in them, to low expectations of caregivers and the residents themselves. For nursing homes to provide the level of rehabilitative care that is now expected of them, current funding mechanisms and negative attitudes must be changed, and nursing homes must be recognized as a legitimate part of mainstream health care.