Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Playing the LTC lottery After reading a recent New York Times Opinion piece about the uses of lotteries to solve social problems, I began contemplating their potential application to long-term care. According to “For Better Citizenship, Scratch and Win,” lotteries have been used to encourage voting, … Read more
Mabel was in her late 80s, had lost a leg to diabetes and didn’t hear well. She’d been suicidal upon her admission to the nursing home, but the team had worked hard to stabilize her mood. Months later, she wasn’t exactly happy, but she and Liza, her young private aide, attended activities together and she no … Read more
Adaptive tandem bicycles allow residents the pleasure of riding a bike and feeling the breeze through their hair. As John Brunow of All Ability Cycles puts it in the video below, an adaptive bicycle event triggers reminiscence, stimulates appetites, and reduces depression. Sounds like a win, win, win to me!
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
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: ‘Healthwear’ and other culture changes My mother has a knack for taking something awkward and, as she puts it, “turning it into a feature.” For example, the previous owners of our family home placed the living room couch in front of a protruding radiator so that … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Clone this woman. Steal this idea. A few months ago, I was consulting at the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica, NY, when a remarkable woman named Trudy Schwarz walked down the hall. Her noteworthy qualities were obvious in several ways. A diminutive woman, … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Dr. El’s subversive guide to culture change We often think of culture change as a formal process initiated by company leaders that involves setting organizational goals and moving employees in big and small ways toward those goals. But culture change also can be a grassroots effort … Read more
It was the third week I was meeting with Mr. Schwartz, an 85-year old man with a thick mustache and a penchant for suspenders. I found him watching TV in the dayroom, surrounded by some of his peers. I crouched by his wheelchair so I could speak to him at eye level. “Hi Mr. Schwartz, I … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Kind words from residents At a conference last week, I remarked to my audience of recreation therapists, “None of us went into this field for the money — we did it for the juice.” And by “the juice,” I mean the good feeling we get from … 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