Recent Blog Posts
From blame to education: Rethinking the nursing home survey process
The treatment team sat around the table calculating the approximate arrival date of the surveyors based on rumors, past years’ experience, and sightings from colleagues at other facilities in the city. “If they approach you,” the director of nursing advised, “try not...
Nursing Home Love Story #6: The Case of the Reluctant Resident
“Hi, Mabel! Do you have some time to talk to me?” Mabel, I knew, had all the time in the world, since she refused to go to activities. She sat across from the nursing station, her hefty frame filling her extra-large wheelchair, watching the nursing staff, the other...
Nursing Home Love Story #5: The New Roommate
I settled down to talk to Pearl, eager to hear how she was faring in her new room. Her voice was strained. “Well, she’s not rummaging through my closet, like Beatrice did. But she told me everybody likes me better than her.” “It makes you uncomfortable.” “Yes! And she...
Coping advice from nursing home residents
COVID-19 has affected millions of people across the country and around the world. It has vastly changed our lives, with no immediate end in sight. As we face the gloomy prospect of a pandemic winter, I consulted some experts for suggestions on how to handle difficult...
Geropsychology in the News
Nursing homes and eldercare have been in the news more frequently recently and I’ve had several opportunities to contribute a psychological perspective. Scripps National News: Washington Post: With video calls and an army of volunteers, this 15-year-old is...
Nursing Home Love Story #4: It’s the Simple Things
When I arrived at Mr. Johnson’s room, he was sitting in the doorway in his wheelchair, frowning at the passersby. He was immaculately dressed as usual, in a button-down shirt and shorts on this hot summer day, looking much younger than his 90 years. Lately he’d been...