Public reactions to healthcare reform depressing, disturbing
By
Liza Berger
Aug 19, 2009
I can’t help but cheer some comments Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) made on Tuesday. In his brash way of speaking, he summed up my sentiments exactly. On Tuesday during a town-hall meeting in his state,...
Book on long-term care tells it like it is
By
Liza Berger
Aug 14, 2009
A new book should be on the required reading list of novices and season veterans of long-term care. It is called “Caring for our Parents: Inspiring Stories of Families Seeking New Solutions to America’s...
Seniors take Medicare cuts seriously
By
Liza Berger
Aug 11, 2009
Lawmakers should have seen it coming. When they proposed cutting Medicare by the billions over the next decade they should have suspected that seniors would rise up to protest. And that’s exactly what...
Judge facilities on an individual basis
By
Liza Berger
Aug 07, 2009
A significant and perhaps somewhat controversial piece of research was released this week suggesting that not-for-profit nursing homes offer higher quality care overall than for-profits. That’s great...
No vacation time for nursing homes this month
By
Liza Berger
Aug 04, 2009
It’s the lazy month of August—and time to get busy. That is, if you’re a nursing home association. Instead of sitting in hammocks idling away the hours, members of the two major lobbying groups will...
Enacting Medicare cuts in name of healthcare reform is reckless, irresponsible
By
Liza Berger
Jul 30, 2009
This healthcare reform debate is swirling faster than a Tilt-A-Whirl at an amusement park. It has been swinging from a move toward the removal of a public option to reports of senators still bogged down...
Proposed Medicare commission could disregard funding realities
By
Liza Berger
Jul 28, 2009
I don’t know about you, Readers, but this push for an Independent Medicare Advisory Council (IMAC) makes me nervous. If approved by Congress, this new body could make it more difficult for nursing homes...
Opinion on advance planning distorts bill’s intent
By
Brett Bakshis
Jul 24, 2009
It’s not often that I read something that’s so wildly off the mark I feel the need to comment on it. Thursday, however, I came across an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal written by former New...
Movie ‘Up’ takes new look at aging
By
Liza Berger
Jul 23, 2009
Finally, there is a movie that provides a positive depiction of seniors and old age. That film is “Up,” and I suggest you head out to the nearest theatre to see it, if you haven’t already. Unlike...
Walter Cronkite’s last broadcasts
By
Liza Berger
Jul 22, 2009
I was too young to remember the legendary broadcasts of Walter Cronkite. But thanks to the cable channel Retirement Living TV and its companion Web site (www.rl.tv), I can say I watched the consummate...