In life, as Donald Rumsfeld once said, there are known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns. This may sound like gobbledygook, but it’s actually relevant to business and long-term care.
A Baptist Home blast from the past
By
Elizabeth Newman
Aug 30, 2017
Coming from a long line of folks who hate to throw anything away, culling more than 250 books this summer from our house has been physically painful. But the cleaning also has resulted in some unexpected...
The ballad of the MDS coordinator
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 08, 2015
A NADONA presentation focused on preparing documentation and audits spent time diving into the way MDS managers are treated — and it doesn’t look great.
The need for semi-skilled workers in LTC
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 29, 2016
What do the meat and poultry industry and long-term care have in common, other than often dealing with turkeys? It turns out both have challenges in hiring semi-skilled workers, which is addressed in a...
Religious freedom: Not just an issue for Hobby Lobby
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jul 10, 2014
It’s tough for nursing homes to attract good certified nursing assistants or aides. It’s even harder when rumors abound about the mistreatment of those on the lower end of the power and pay...
Bingo, mean girls and being inclusive
By
Elizabeth Newman
Feb 06, 2015
Two incidents featured recently in the New York Times have provoked thought about inclusion in long-term care settings. Both are seriously depressing when we consider how much our industry promotes the...
Putting a conference in the happiest place
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jun 16, 2014
Far and away, the most pleasant conference experience I have had was in Anaheim, CA, last week, where NADONA held its annual conference. That is because of the Disney experience, and the fact it brings...
Adding life to end-of-life care
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jan 22, 2016
As I suspect of most journalists, I’m an eavesdropper. Recently I heard a pizza shop employee say to another employee, “No one was being honest with her,” and the other employee said,...
GAO addresses troubling fraud
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jul 27, 2015
It’s always tempting to think reports issued from the Government Accountability Office are written by bureaucrats sharpening pencils and tapping into computer databases.
Looking forward to 2017
By
Elizabeth Newman
Nov 11, 2016
In a historic week for the country, there’s been a lot of discussion about media, most of it negative. That’s why it made me feel good to talk to two administrators who saw a McKnight’s...