Cold weather. An uncertain world. Rogue shrinks making the rest of us caring, diligent professionals look bad. I don’t know about you, but I need a mood lifter. I came across an article that suggests that exercise of all kinds, even small movements, can make us feel less depressed. In “Get up and move. It … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Calming fears of floods and other catastrophes By now it’s likely that you, your staff, the residents and their families have seen the incredibly disturbing photo of assisted living residents in Dickinson, TX, sitting in waist-high floodwaters. Thankfully, all the older women in the picture have … Read more
From the 102-year-old Hulk Hogan fan to the doting, selfless caregivers doing behind-the-scenes work, there are numerous people in long-term care who inspired me this year. Take, for example: • The 102-year-old man, still remarkably handsome, whose favorite sport is professional wrestling and who recalls fondly the days of Hulk Hogan. • The personal companion I encountered … Read more
Perhaps you’ve heard about the administrator who spent a week as a resident in his long-term care facility. After being roused from sleep daily to receive medications that could have been dispensed later in the day, he banned his physicians from unnecessarily prescribing meds during night hours. That’s an excellent way of attending to sleep … Read more
One of the things that most brightens my workday is when I see long-term care residents hanging out together. In particular, I’ve noticed two ladies who attend activities in tandem wearing dresses with hats and costume jewelry, a threesome of confused residents who sit near the nursing station laughing at jokes only they understand, and … Read more
I waited outside the room until the rehab therapists finished talking to Jim, who’d been admitted to the nursing home the night before. I read over the basic info on his face sheet before my consult. Jim was an 87-year old widower with a long list of diagnoses, some very serious. After a moment, the … Read more
I lost one of my two mothers-in-law last Monday, five weeks after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We had expected Audrey to reach 100 years of age, like her mother, but she died shortly after her 91st birthday, having spent her 90th year traveling and doing water aerobics three times a week. Audrey had … Read more