There are moments in life that engender important questions. When an individual is born, we ask, “Is it a boy or a girl?” When the person dies, we ask, “What happened?” In long-term care, we’re not around for the first question, but we often are for the second. Though infrequently observed by those not involved … Read more
Assistance in creating a “good death” is a fundamental task of any organization working with elders and may be addressed by a number of team members singly or in combination. Since these discussions are often easier said than done, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my experiences since I, as a … Read more
One of the things that most brightens my workday is when I see long-term care residents hanging out together. In particular, I’ve noticed two ladies who attend activities in tandem wearing dresses with hats and costume jewelry, a threesome of confused residents who sit near the nursing station laughing at jokes only they understand, and … Read more
I waited outside the room until the rehab therapists finished talking to Jim, who’d been admitted to the nursing home the night before. I read over the basic info on his face sheet before my consult. Jim was an 87-year old widower with a long list of diagnoses, some very serious. After a moment, the … Read more
I lost one of my two mothers-in-law last Monday, five weeks after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We had expected Audrey to reach 100 years of age, like her mother, but she died shortly after her 91st birthday, having spent her 90th year traveling and doing water aerobics three times a week. Audrey had … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Preventing violence in long-term care As I developed a training program on violence prevention, I reflected on a scenario I’ve witnessed many times in my career. A resident who had been physically aggressive toward aides and nurses got sent to the hospital only after he hit … Read more
The top recommendation in the April 9 McKnight’s article “Researchers share 6 tips to improve nursing home care for blacks and Latinos” was to include a social worker on staff in the facility. “Great,” a reader commented, but “ask CMS … if they will pay for it.” Perhaps, though better yet, social workers will pay … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Benefits of acknowledging success “My column won a bronze award for best blog in the 2019 American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors competition,” I informed a friend of mine, “but I feel funny telling people.” “Women have such a hard time with this!” she said with … Read more
I’m pleased to announce that my biweekly McKnight’s LTC News column, The World According to Dr. El, won a bronze award for best blog in the 2019 American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors competition.
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Why Five-Star ratings should measure staff retention, not staff ratios The Five-Star Quality Rating System reports the results of health inspections, staffing and quality measures. I suggest we replace the current staffing measure with one tracking staff retention. Here’s my logic: The existing staffing score is … Read more