I read some helpful ideas on working with residents with dementia in the most recent Psychologists in Long-Term Care newsletter (Vol. 25, Issue 2-3). Psychologist Nancy Hoffman, PsyD, discusses research findings and her interview with Lucy Andrews, RN, MS, owner of At Your Service Homecare in Santa Rosa, California. The main points to consider: Agitation often … Read more
When I was in college at the State University of New York at Albany, I took an intriguing course called Behavioral Geography. The professor taught us that how we used a place affected the way we mapped it in our brains. One of our assignments was to ask people we knew from different groups to … Read more
Check out my article in Long-Term Living Magazine this month: Resident Bathing Transformed: From Endurable to Enjoyable. Interestingly, the perspectives of the residents and staff members I interviewed about showers in the nursing home corresponded with research on providing good customer service. Click on the link, or paste this into your browser — http://tinyurl.com/5u757n2 — to read about … Read more
Me: Mrs. Jones, Where Is Your Hearing Aid? Mrs. Jones: What? Me: YOUR HEARING AID! WHERE IS IT? Mrs. Jones: The nurse has it in her closet. Me: I’LL BE RIGHT BACK! Research shows that people with untreated hearing loss have a higher risk of depression than those wearing hearing aids. I believe it. Imagine … Read more
“Tired CNA” posted a comment on my blog, saying she wished there were something that could be done about alert residents who ring their call bells 30 times a day. And there is. Here are some suggestions: Residents who ring their call bells frequently are often anxious, needing what seems like constant reassurance. Quell their … Read more
“What the f***!” Ms. Webster was red in the face, shouting at the nurse who’d just arrived for the evening shift. “The day nurse told me I was moving to the third floor — now you tell me I’m not? You people better get your s*** together!” She began hurling onto the bed the belongings … Read more
“Come on now, Vera, honey,” the nurse said in a high-pitched, sing-song voice, “be a good girl and take this nice candy.” Vera swung her arm and knocked the tiny cups of pills to the floor. In their 2009 study, Elderspeak Commnunication: Impact on Dementia Care, Kristine N. Williams, RN, PhD, and her colleagues … Read more
Call for Papers: The Clinical Gerontologist (Special Issue) Person-Centered Care: Measurement, Implementation, and Outcomes Person-centered care incorporates the unique life history of older adults and emphasizes relationships and communication. The past two decades has seen a rise in a desire to transform care of older adults from a task-centered to person-centered. However, there is a … Read more
Nan was in the hallway, looking as thin and pale as I’d ever seen her. “Are you okay? Do you feel well enough to meet today?” I’d heard in morning report that she’d been diagnosed with pneumonia. “No,” she croaked, and then hesitated. “I mean, yes.” She looked at me intently. “It might be our … Read more
When I worked in the psychiatric hospital, the focus of treatment was on the mental health of the patients. Physical complaints were usually thought of as an expression of mental illness and not reflective of an actual medical problem. We once sent a patient down to the tiny sub-basement medical clinic after she injured her … Read more