According to a recent study, laughter could be the best medicine when it comes to treating elderly dementia patients. Four hundred residents from 36 nursing homes took part in the Australia based study to see if humour had an effect on people with dementia in terms of their mood, agitation levels, behavior and social engagement. The researchers worked with a “humour therapist” who normally works as a “clown doctor” cheering up patients in children’s hospitals.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested two people this week for stealing the identities of elderly nursing home residents. Investigators say a nurse at a nursing home stole the social security numbers, birthdates, and other personal information from more than 80 patients at the home. The nurse, allegedly turned around and sold the information to a man who police say plugged the data into an online tax software and tricked it into sending him thousands of dollars in refund money.

The following has been adapted from WSET/ABC 13: Rural areas are losing opportunities to cities, according to a member of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors. For 25 years, the Lovingston Health and Rehabilitation Center has been in Nelson County.  Now the nursing home is moving to Albemarle County which presents significant issues for the patients and their families. The daughter of one resident says she works near the nursing home in Lovingston and the location is perfect for her to ju…

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has launched efforts to stop Medicaid fraud in the state of Virginia.  Cuccinelli says the purpose of the crackdown is to prevent crime and give patients confidence in knowing that they are charged appropriately for medical services in the Commonwealth. In 2010, the office’s Medicaid Fraud Control unit recovered more than $15 million in fraudulent charges. Ads part of the effort, the Medicaid Fraud Control unit’s staff has nearly doubled since 2010.

The United Way Day of Caring, an annual event that involves hundreds of volunteers performing various activities for charities and the needy around the area, has blessed many elderly Virginia residents. Richard Runion, who cares for his 79-year-old wife who has severe dementia, received volunteer work at his home which totaled about $2,000, he estimated. The volunteers trimmed trees and hedges, cleaned and repaired gutters and washed his front window.

One state’s attorney general’s office issued a cease and desist order to an unlicensed assisted living facility Wednesday afternoon and has already begun transporting the patients to nearby facilities. According to investigators, the unlicensed facility was operating out of 3 houses. The buildings did not meet fire codes and were declared a hazard by county fire code inspectors.