Recent Blog Posts
Rethinking quality care: A long-term care psychologist’s perspective
Quality care is often considered from a medical perspective, with the focus on providing the best possible medical services. This is, of course, an essential element of the services provided in long-term care. But at a time when there’s a greater push for community...
A conversation with ‘superhero’ health policy researcher David Grabowski
For a fascinating close-up of the impact of policy decisions on individuals and teams, I step onto the nursing home unit. For a fascinating zoom-out of the impact of policy decisions on the healthcare system in general, I follow the Twitter feed of David Grabowski,...
Anticipating anniversary reactions
The coronavirus was officially declared a pandemic one year ago this month. The news is filled with articles reflecting on the dramatic changes in our lives from last year to this — lost jobs, remote school, canceled events, illness. For those in long-term care, this...
Is your facility prepared for returning families?
If all goes well, over the next few weeks there will be an increasing number of family members visiting their loved ones in the nursing home, many for the first time in a year. Along with the joy and relief of these reunions, we can expect to observe a great deal of...
The emotional impact of pandemic secrecy
As a geropsychologist and a New Yorker, I’ve been relieved to see the after-the-fact uncovering of the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes in New York last year. The New York data revelation is not really a revelation to anyone who worked in long-term care...
We’re vaccinated. Now what?
Across the country, long-term care facilities are vaccinating their staff and residents, with approximately 3.1 million dosesdelivered as of last week and rates of COVID-19 infection in nursing home residents declining for the past four weeks. This excellent news...