Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Behavioral health care — not drugs — for dementia Antipsychotic medications have proved ineffective at reducing the symptoms associated with dementia. They also have serious side effects in older adults, including restlessness, dizziness, higher likelihood of falls and other problems that can contribute to an increased … Read more
In Paula Span’s column today in the New York Times’ New Old Age column, Near the End, It’s Best to Be ‘Friended’, she discusses the increasingly common situation of elders who have no representatives assigned to make healthcare decisions on their behalf. She encourages seniors to dig deep into their social networks to find an appropriate candidate to … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 7 powerful ways to deliver family-centered care When families seek mental health treatment, it’s often because of a “problem child.” Family therapists consider this person to be the “identified patient” and recognize that the troubled individual is part of a family unit whose members all benefit … Read more
Over 1000 listeners attended my McKnight’s Fall Online Expo webinar, “Letting them go with style,” which focused on ways to use the loss of employees to strengthen your organization. McKnight’s editor Jim Berklan moderated the event and shared his thoughts about the webinar in his Daily Editor’s Notes column today. I’m gratified to hear that the talk … Read more
It’s time for McKnight’s Fall Online Expo! I’m pleased to be presenting at 11am ET on Wednesday, September 9th on the topic of “Letting Them Go with Style.” This free hour-long webinar will focus on how to use the loss of employees to strengthen your organization. The other two webinars will address reimbursement and technology. … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: The high cost of rudeness A study about rudeness in the medical journal Pediatrics got me thinking about the possible effects of rudeness in long-term care. In “The Impact of Rudeness on Medical Team Performance: A Randomized Trial,” teams were subjected to rude comments by a … Read more
Mr. Johnson was in his 90s and had lost his vision many years ago. His great joy in life now was listening to the radio. When I first came to see him, he had many different types of radios in his room. There were several radio alarm clocks and complicated boom boxes with too many … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Spirituality in Long-Term Care Last week, a New York Times article referred to the lack of training to prepare doctors to recognize the spiritual needs of their patients. Hospital physician Robert Klitzman, M.D., emphasized in the Well section article the value of meeting these needs. Psychology … Read more
I’m thrilled to share with you that I’m the recipient of the Psychologists in Long-Term Care Professional Service Award for 2015! Psychologists in Long-Term Care is “a network of psychologists and other professionals dedicated to the enhancement of mental health and quality of life for those involved in long-term care through practice, research and advocacy.” They … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Dr. El’s Shrinky LTC Fantasy I hung up the phone with the managed care case reviewer. The patient in question was in her late 50s, with multiple sclerosis and other physical problems that had unexpectedly interfered with her ability to return home or even to sit … Read more