The holidays can be a difficult time of year, especially for residents in nursing homes. Many residents once hosted family gatherings, or were regulars at a holiday event, but now their physical disability complicates their participation in familiar rituals. Last year I wrote a post on this topic from the residents’ point of view, ‘Twas … Read more
A recent study by the Phoenix Center looked at adults 55 and over, but not employed or in nursing homes, and found that Internet use decreased their level of depression by 20%. I’m not at all surprised by this, and I believe a similar decrease in depression levels would be observed in nursing home residents … Read more
I read a post on McKnights.com last week that so distressed me I had to wait a week before I was ready to blog about it. The article, Nurses, Relatives Underestimate Pain in Nursing Home Residents, Study Finds, reports the results of a five-year study in the Netherlands that shows a tendency to underestimate pain, … Read more
This article from McKnights.com suggests that a key factor in reducing staff stress and injuries during transfer is understanding each resident with dementia and tailoring your approach to the individual. http://www.mcknights.com/Communication-problems-stress-caregivers-of-patients-with-Alzheimers/article/148941/?DCMP=EMC-MCK_Daily
Here’s an interesting article on a brief nursing home stay by a medical student as part of her training. Experiencing Life, Briefly, Inside a Nursing Home By Katie Zezima Published: August 23, 2009 MAMARONECK, N.Y. — For 10 days in June, Kristen Murphy chose to live somewhere she and many others fear: a nursing home. … Read more
Father Bart is a thoughtful, kind, and spiritual man who worked not only as a nursing home chaplain, but trained as a Certified Nursing Assistant prior to his four years in long term care. He graciously consented to be interviewed for my blog, despite having moved on to other pursuits. What follows is an intimate … Read more
The July 2009 report, Trends in Mental Health Admissions to Nursing Homes, 1999 – 2005 notes that “the proportion of nursing home residents with mental illness, in particular depression, has overtaken the proportion of those with dementia”. According to a July 1, 2009 article by Liza Berger in McKnights.com, “younger mentally ill people now account … Read more
I asked some experienced nursing home residents if they had any advice they’d like to share with residents who were just arriving, in order to make their stay more pleasant. I was surprised by the diversity of their responses and the speed with which they gave them. Please add your suggestions to the comments section. … Read more
I was walking home from my writer’s group the other day, talking with a group member who’s a former emergency medical technician. “It’s funny how the elderly get infantilized so much. I wonder why that is,” she commented. “I think we do it to them. I didn’t realize it for a few years into working … Read more
Please: Hang my psychology diplomas on my wall, so I’m reminded of my accomplishments. Display family photos, so I feel surrounded by my loved ones. If I have Dementia, label my photos so the staff can talk to me about my family and help me to remember. Put a quilt or bedspread on my … Read more