Severely mentally ill residents: Staff training, teamwork needed As I discussed in Severely mentally ill residents: A ‘perfect storm’ creates a SNF wave, long-term care has a growing population of severely mentally ill (SMI) residents, with the number of residents diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder approaching 20% in some states as of 2017.1 In … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Severely mentally ill residents: A ‘perfect storm’ creates a SNF wave Long-term care facilities are admitting more residents with longstanding psychiatric illnesses. Such individuals enter the nursing home for physical rehabilitation but are difficult to discharge back to the community due to their mental health needs, … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: In the wake of a nursing home double-homicide: How to meet mental health needs and prevent violence News of the recent double-homicide in a Houston nursing home arrived the morning I was to speak to a group gathered to address the needs of younger residents in long-term care. … Read more
Join Dr. El this Thursday in Connecticut! The Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities is sponsoring a talk on Meeting the Needs of Younger Residents Thursday, April 24th, 2014 at 9am at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell, CT For more information and to register: CAHCF.org
I’m honored to be speaking at LeadingAge Florida’s 50th annual convention this year. I’ll be talking tomorrow morning about the anticipated psychosocial needs of baby boomers. If you’re at the convention, please come by to hear me and be sure to say hello afterward. Hope to see you there!
Here’s my latest article at McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Young adults in long-term care: a new resource for caregivers According to a 2010 NPR report, young adults have been one of the fastest growing long-term care populations over the past 10 years, with 14% of nursing home residents under the age of 65. Some live in … Read more
Here’s my most recent article in McKnight’s Long-Term Care news online: The “Single” Boom: Problems and Solutions for Long-Term Care According to recent reports, one-third of the baby boomers who will be arriving at the doorstep of long-term care are unmarried. Many of them have no children. Just as our healthcare system relies on unpaid … Read more
Will you be in Toronto on October 19th, 2011? Come hear Dr. El speak at the annual convention of the Activity Professionals of Ontario. Participants will learn: How we react to working with younger residents, and how younger residents react to us as staff members. How to use this knowledge to create healthy resident/staff relationships, … Read more
“My aide treats me like I’m an idiot,” Katrina typed to me on her talking computer. “What do you mean?” “She thinks I don’t know what’s going on!” Her eyes radiated her emotional pain. “She’s a bitch!” A series of strokes had stolen Katrina’s ability to speak, leaving her a silent observer of her surroundings … Read more
The saying in 12-Step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is that alcoholism is a three-fold disease: physical, mental, and spiritual. The only-half-kidding joke is that alcoholism is a three-fold disease: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. The holidays can be a particularly stressful time for nursing home residents as their celebrations have often changed significantly … Read more