Recent Blog Posts
Increasing the positive visibility of long-term care
Prior to COVID-19, nursing homes were almost exclusively seen by the public as grim places to be avoided. People didn’t want to “end up” there, family members usually exhausted all possible avenues of care prior to admission, and sometimes relatives didn’t visit...
Clinical considerations when the census is low
COVID-19 has negatively affected the ability of many long-term care facilities to maintain a full census. Less frequent elective surgeries, fewer rehab cases and more empty beds make it harder to be selective about which patients are admitted, impacting not just the...
My job in a COVID-19 hotspot didn’t give me COVID — it gave me PTSD
In my role as a long-term care psychologist in New York City, I try to ensure that each of the residents on my caseload makes the most of the time they have left in life and that they have a “good” death when the time comes. Instead of their last years surrounded by...
The Geropsychology Podcast Interview
Did you know that geropsychology has its own podcast? I didn’t, until I was asked to be interviewed for their COVID-19 mini-series. Click on the link below to hear my conversation with Drs. Lindsey Jacobs and Rachel Weiskittle, and check out their other...
Advice from LTC pros who have been through COVID-19
One of the best ways to make meaning from tragedy is to use the experience to help others. Below, staff members of New York City nursing homes hit early in the pandemic graciously offer their advice to teams across the country that might be anticipating or currently...
Protecting residents of nursing homes from pandemics
Last week I listened to a webinar on protecting residents of nursing homes from pandemics, hosted by STAT News and sponsored by AARP. The three medical experts on the call offered a multitude of recommendations, some of which will no doubt be familiar to long-term...