Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 6 steps to manage post-election reactions in LTC The 2016 presidential election has revealed a deep rift in our country, and quite possibly in our long-term care facilities as well. While some employees and residents are pleased about the election results, it’s likely that others in … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Suicide prevention in older adults In preparing for a webinar on suicide prevention, I came across startling statistics about suicide rates among older adults. Despite the concern we often hear about teen suicide, the rate for elders is even higher. While older adults make up 12% … Read more
The theologian, Paul Tillich, once said, “The first duty of love is to listen.” This quote came to my mind when I read the kind review of my book, “The Savvy Resident’s Guide,” by Yang of CNAEdge. It feels good to be heard. In return, I want to thank Yang and his colleagues, Alice and … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Playing the LTC lottery After reading a recent New York Times Opinion piece about the uses of lotteries to solve social problems, I began contemplating their potential application to long-term care. According to “For Better Citizenship, Scratch and Win,” lotteries have been used to encourage voting, … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 3 surprising reasons to strengthen your resident council When it comes to resident councils, it’s often thought that an active resident council might seem good in theory, but that it’s offset by the amount of staff time required to devote to the process and concern that … Read more
Mabel was in her late 80s, had lost a leg to diabetes and didn’t hear well. She’d been suicidal upon her admission to the nursing home, but the team had worked hard to stabilize her mood. Months later, she wasn’t exactly happy, but she and Liza, her young private aide, attended activities together and she no … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: 4 ways to find out why your aides are leaving Once, when I worked for a managed care company, I rode down a packed elevator with the CEO, who commented drily on the crowd, saying, “It must be 5:01.” What I thought, but did not say, … Read more
Adaptive tandem bicycles allow residents the pleasure of riding a bike and feeling the breeze through their hair. As John Brunow of All Ability Cycles puts it in the video below, an adaptive bicycle event triggers reminiscence, stimulates appetites, and reduces depression. Sounds like a win, win, win to me!
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: To reduce staff turnover, lead with LTC strengths When I spoke about the challenges of staff turnover at the Louisiana Nursing Home Association convention last week, I asked the group, “If you were able to bring in the same salary you were currently making, would you … Read more
Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: What’s all this about PBJ? (Guest post by Miss Emily Litella) So what’s all this about peanut butter and jelly? Emily Mongan wrote the other day that, “Providers could face Five-Star sanctions for late PBJ data.” Why are they keeping track of our peanut butter and jelly … Read more