Complaint #2: The Food Where is the Emeril of nursing home food? It’s time to kick things up a notch. There’s a huge opportunity for improvement in the quality, number of choices, and presentation of the food in nursing homes, and to affect the satisfaction of the residents with their meals. A good start is … Read more
William Losefsky, Director of Safety, Security & Emergency Management for the New Hampshire State Veterans Home contributed today’s post. I found it very touching, and I’d like to hear more ways in which nursing homes acknowledge the loss of their residents. If you have a ceremony you’d like to share with MBNH readers, please email … Read more
Complaint #1: No One Coming When the Call Bell is Pressed I’ve worked on units where the moment the call bell goes off, the charge nurse immediately and calmly asks an aide to check on the room. The bell goes off, someone arrives. Simple customer service. This leads to a unit full of residents who … Read more
Give ’em hell Knit Hang out on the patio from Spring through Fall Attend every off-campus trip available Read Write Join, or start, the International Association of Nursing Home Residents Sit in the lobby and watch the people come and go, while knitting Attend the Classic Rock and R&B performances in therapeutic recreation Take a … Read more
I refer my residents to therapeutic activities every day. I consider them a vital adjunct to my work as a psychologist. Here’s why: Therapeutic recreation reverses the downward spiral of depression. There’s a theory that when we’re depressed, we stop doing the things we enjoy, thus leading to more depression. In order to become less … Read more
The phone rang mid-session with Velma. Knowing the frail 87-year old was fiercely independent, I refrained from handing her the telephone, and watched as she slowly wheeled herself toward her side table. Ring… She was halfway there. Ring… She reached out with an unsteady arm. The phone wobbled in her grasp as she held it … Read more
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ensures that the personal information of our nursing home residents stays personal, but sometimes it’s taken too far. Well-meaning staff members, not wanting to violate HIPAA, are unsure whether or not to share news of a resident’s death with their friends in the nursing home, so they … Read more
A little over a year ago, I decided to stop coloring my hair (Going Gray). I’d started to feel uncomfortable hiding my silver while I was spending my days helping folks deal with growing older. I kept a box of fire red in the closet, though, just in case it was a disaster. I got … Read more
Many residents have shared with me the experience of leaving their homes suddenly because of a medical emergency, only to find themselves unable to return. Now living in the nursing home, it’s difficult for them to wrap up their affairs in their former home, causing depression, anxiety, and a loss of control. In this post, … Read more
Recent psychology research* showed reduced levels of agitation in nursing home residents with dementia, some to the point of not being considered agitated at all. This promising study used a structured yes/no list to find the types of activities the residents found pleasurable either now or in the past, such as listening to jazz music … Read more