The pandemic has caused many of us to reflect on our lives, work and priorities. It’s also led to catastrophic losses and to greater public awareness of problems in our field. In the mental health world, we encourage people to try to learn and grow from tragedy. I hope we in the long-term care world … Read more
’Tis the season to help families address end-of-life care The holiday season will soon be upon us and with it will come out-of-town family members visiting their loved ones in long-term care settings. Early November is a good time to increase the focus and training on customer service so that the facility is performing at … Read more
In one of the more disturbing encounters I’ve had in long-term care — in a 5-Star deficiency-free nursing home — I offered my condolences to an aide on the loss of a resident she’d cared for over a period of two years. The aide, a heavyset woman, smiled as she told me that she’d known … Read more
I started working in long-term care when I was in my early 30s and I was shocked at first when the residents died. I was used to falling in love with my patients — I consider it a prerequisite for psychotherapy. I wasn’t used to them dying on me. In the years since, I’ve lost … Read more
I walked into Mr. Hobart’s room, ready for my initial evaluation. He was a thin, graying man whose loose clothes hung in folds around him. He’d spent every day last week in chemo. He spoke quietly, discussing his estrangement from his family and the good old days hanging out at the bar. None of his … Read more
There are moments in life that engender important questions. When an individual is born, we ask, “Is it a boy or a girl?” When the person dies, we ask, “What happened?” In long-term care, we’re not around for the first question, but we often are for the second. Though infrequently observed by those not involved … Read more
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 it might be helpful to share some of my experiences since I, as a … Read more
I waited outside the room until the rehab therapists finished talking to Jim, who’d been admitted to the nursing home the night before. I read over the basic info on his face sheet before my consult. Jim was an 87-year old widower with a long list of diagnoses, some very serious. After a moment, the … Read more
I lost one of my two mothers-in-law last Monday, five weeks after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We had expected Audrey to reach 100 years of age, like her mother, but she died shortly after her 91st birthday, having spent her 90th year traveling and doing water aerobics three times a week. Audrey had … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: The importance of leadership in creating good deaths in LTC In one of the more disturbing encounters I’ve had in long-term care — in a 5-Star deficiency-free nursing home — I offered my condolences to an aide on the loss of a resident she’d cared for … Read more