Communication

On power, teamwork and communication

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Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: On power, teamwork and communication Having enough of it at work, I tend to avoid drama in my entertainment choices unless it involves aliens or post-apocalyptic nonsense. My family and I are currently enjoying the creative spectacle of Project Runway “Teams” version from a few seasons … Read more

Correcting long-term care’s image problem

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Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Correcting long-term care’s image problem Long-term care has an image problem. For a variety of reasons, we aren’t associated with good times. There are things we can do to turn this around, though, starting with the perceptions of our residents. Most people who come to live … Read more

Enhancing the value of LTC by making family visits more rewarding

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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

6 steps to manage post-election reactions in LTC

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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

Suicide prevention in older adults

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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

3 surprising reasons to strengthen your resident council

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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

Wisdom from elders

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Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Wisdom from elders I’ve learned a lot from listening to residents over the years, but it’s rare that I request specific advice. This month, I decided to change that. In private conversations, I told residents that I was writing an article on advice from elders about … Read more

Racism and LTC

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Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Racism and LTC A friend of mine called me this week, upset about the racial tension making headlines in the news. We discussed what we could do as individuals to improve the situation. “I called a friend of mine of a different race,” she said. “I … Read more

Super-utilizers: LTC has them too

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Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Super-utilizers: LTC has them too I was flying home after visiting some family elders last week (a story itself perhaps for another time) when I happened upon a Kaiser Health News article about “super-utilizers” of emergency room services. Research on Medi-Cal, California’s state health insurance for … Read more

Full code: Discussing advance directives

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Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Full code: Discussing advance directives 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 … Read more