The Minister for Loneliness in LTC According to researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad of Brigham Young University, loneliness has a greater impact on health than smoking 15 cigarettes daily, or obesity, which is associated with 300,000 to 600,000 deaths a year in the United States alone. In England, the “loneliness epidemic” has reached such proportions that they’ve … Read more
The last-minute guide to trauma-informed care With trauma-related F-tags beginning in less than two weeks, many providers have spent months training their staff and feel quite prepared to manage this sensitive aspect of resident mental health care. For those who might not be completely ready for the Nov. 28 start date, I offer below some … Read more
If toileting were a billable service … The other day over lunch a colleague said to me, “Imagine how things would change if toileting were a billable service.” I laughed, briefly considered that fanciful notion and continued eating my meal. As I gave the idea further reflection, however, it might not be as laughable as … Read more
I’ll be speaking about Behavioral Health in Senior Living at McKnight’s free Online Expo at 11am ET on Thursday, 6/20. To register for the virtual Expo, see the info below. McKnight’s Online Expo, FREE, Thursday June 20th Earn 3 Free CEUs at 3 Free webinars Finally, a virtual trade show just for senior living professionals! … 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
McKnight’s Online Expo, FREE, March 27th and 28th 2019 Earn 5 Free CEUs at 5 Free webinars Once again, McKnight’s will host its annual online expo, which is a chance to attend a conference without leaving your desk. Register for the conference in advance, and then log in to hear the talks, visit the … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: How to quit like a shrink Employees leave their positions for many reasons — organizational restructuring, family needs, a better offer — and they exit their jobs in a variety of different ways. Some sneak out quietly so that their coworkers find out only after they’re … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Severely mentally ill residents: A ‘perfect storm’ creates a SNF wave Long-term care facilities are admitting more residents with longstanding psychiatric illnesses. Such individuals enter the nursing home for physical rehabilitation but are difficult to discharge back to the community due to their mental health needs, … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Healthcare changes that burn me out — and burn me up I was recently required to take an online training module on burnout for physicians and allied professionals. It was the first time in 20-plus years that I’d received a formal message about self-care from any long-term … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: A hopeful day at LeadingAge 2018 I headed to the 2018 LeadingAge convention last week looking for a fix of long-term care enthusiasm and that’s exactly what I got. I met up with old colleagues, put faces to voices I’d spoken to for years and wandered … Read more