Here’s my latest article at McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Suicide risk in LTC: Effective protocols may not be what you think According to researchers, 11% to 43% of LTC residents have thoughts of suicide1-3, with higher rates in larger facilities and in those with more staff turnover4. Other stressors include medical illness, the presence of … Read more
It’s been a challenging time here in New York, leading me to write this guest post for McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Helping your LTC community cope in the wake of Hurricane Sandy In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, long-term care facilities may be wondering how to help their own residents, families, and staff members or … Read more
This month’s Caring for the Ages magazine features an article by Joanne Kaldy on reducing the emotional distress of resident through disaster preparedness. Here’s my contribution: During a disaster, staff might be surprised at how calm many residents actually are. “A lot of residents aren’t as upset as we think. We need to be … Read more
Check out my article, featured in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: http://www.mcknights.com/after-natural-disasters-coping-with-resident-and-staff-emotions/article/21821/
When nursing home residents are evacuated from their facilities after any type of disaster, they typically move to another nursing home rather than to a public shelter. They therefore miss the opportunity to speak with trained first responders who can help them address their emotional reactions to the experience. Developed by psychologist Lisa M. Brown, … Read more
In 1967, psychiatrists Holmes and Rahe created a scale that measures the stress levels of various life events, and found that people with stress levels over 300 are at high risk of illness. I’ve always considered a nursing home stay to be a very stressful experience, but applying the scale was illuminating. I took the … Read more
The shocking news of an assault on nursing home residents and staff is likely to cause fear and anxiety in members of our nursing home community. As a nursing home psychologist who was working in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11, I’d like to offer some suggestions regarding ways in which we can … Read more