Would you want to live in the LTC home where you work?
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 17, 2013
I used to live in a fabulous old fourth-floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan. When I moved out of Manhattan to a borough of New York City for an elevator building with a laundry room in the basement, I...
Playing the LTC lottery
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 25, 2016
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. An element of fun might be...
Taking vacations when residents can’t do the same
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Aug 21, 2014
Like many, I’m taking some vacation time during the month of August. It got me thinking about the ways workers interact with residents when they take time off from their jobs. It’s more important...
‘Okie El’ rocks out, and then veges out
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 28, 2015
My first-ever trip to Oklahoma for a speaking engagement recently included no fringed surries. But there was a bustling, well-run long-term conference, animated conversations with attendees, life-altering...
Dear Diary, Last week I attended my first AHCA convention …
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 16, 2014
There’s nothing like the first time you get to meet people, attend education sessions and see the exhibit hall at the American Health Care Association, as I found out last week. If you weren’t...
Reducing learned helplessness in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jul 11, 2013
John O’Connor’s recent post on the pain/depression cycle raised some interesting points about depression in long-term care. Reducing learned helplessness that is often seen in depression is...
Dialysis: Gauging its need, and how to reduce its stress
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 31, 2015
As a psychologist observing the effects of medical interventions on the mental health of the long-term care resident, I often ask, “Is this aggressive procedure helping?” As it turns out, so...
Growing Good
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 05, 2016
In the wee hours of the night I recently discovered a Facebook post about a company founded by two brothers called Life is Good. It emerged from the standing request the founders’ mother had for...
6 ways to improve dealing with death in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 20, 2015
How someone dies is a very important part of the culture of the long-term care organization. Odds are your community can improve its culture in this area.
The ticklish balancing act: Resident rights vs. care quality
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 08, 2018
Balancing the rights and desires of residents with the need of the facility to avoid citation and litigation can be very tricky, but the payoff can be definitely worth it when done right. Here’s...