Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: A ‘novel-la’ way to educate families about dementia As I’ve mentioned in past columns, delivering high quality care for residents and their families means accepting our role not only as care providers but also as educators throughout the process. This often involves teaching family members about … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Successful New Year’s resolutions, LTC-style I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I do, however, have a list of goals I’d like to accomplish this year, including editing the first draft of my novel, finishing the illustrated book I started, scheduling more speaking engagements, and writing more … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Enhancing the value of LTC by making family visits more rewarding In his Dec. 6 McKnight’s Senior Living column, Editorial Director John O’Connor reported on a senior living center in Jiangsu province in China that offers cash rewards to people who visit their loved ones. Ten … Read more
The Savvy Resident’s Guide can help set reasonable expectations for your new residents and families, leading them to view their stays in a more favorable light. To see how, download a FREE Kindle version between December 7-9th and take advantage of Holidays Savings of 20% off bulk orders of 25 or more copies through Friday, December … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 6 steps to manage post-election reactions in LTC The 2016 presidential election has revealed a deep rift in our country, and quite possibly in our long-term care facilities as well. While some employees and residents are pleased about the election results, it’s likely that others in … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Suicide prevention in older adults In preparing for a webinar on suicide prevention, I came across startling statistics about suicide rates among older adults. Despite the concern we often hear about teen suicide, the rate for elders is even higher. While older adults make up 12% … Read more
The theologian, Paul Tillich, once said, “The first duty of love is to listen.” This quote came to my mind when I read the kind review of my book, “The Savvy Resident’s Guide,” by Yang of CNAEdge. It feels good to be heard. In return, I want to thank Yang and his colleagues, Alice and … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Playing the LTC lottery After reading a recent New York Times Opinion piece about the uses of lotteries to solve social problems, I began contemplating their potential application to long-term care. According to “For Better Citizenship, Scratch and Win,” lotteries have been used to encourage voting, … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 3 surprising reasons to strengthen your resident council When it comes to resident councils, it’s often thought that an active resident council might seem good in theory, but that it’s offset by the amount of staff time required to devote to the process and concern that … Read more
Mabel was in her late 80s, had lost a leg to diabetes and didn’t hear well. She’d been suicidal upon her admission to the nursing home, but the team had worked hard to stabilize her mood. Months later, she wasn’t exactly happy, but she and Liza, her young private aide, attended activities together and she no … Read more