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
The Savvy Resident’s Guide can help set reasonable expectations for your new residents and families, leading them to view their stays in a more favorable light. To see how, download a FREE Kindle version between December 7-9th and take advantage of Holidays Savings of 20% off bulk orders of 25 or more copies through Friday, December … Read more
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
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
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
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
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 4 ways to find out why your aides are leaving Once, when I worked for a managed care company, I rode down a packed elevator with the CEO, who commented drily on the crowd, saying, “It must be 5:01.” What I thought, but did not say, … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: To reduce staff turnover, lead with LTC strengths When I spoke about the challenges of staff turnover at the Louisiana Nursing Home Association convention last week, I asked the group, “If you were able to bring in the same salary you were currently making, would you … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: What’s all this about PBJ? (Guest post by Miss Emily Litella) So what’s all this about peanut butter and jelly? Emily Mongan wrote the other day that, “Providers could face Five-Star sanctions for late PBJ data.” Why are they keeping track of our peanut butter and jelly … Read more
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