Nursing home therapy dogs: courage givers, door openers and conversation starters
By
Kevin R. McMahon
May 11, 2009
A Labradoodle named Daisy has brought hours of love and affection to the residents of The Merriman in Akron, OH. Her impact has inspired a project to increase the presence of dogs and owners in institutional...
Eye contact or Angry Birds?
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 16, 2013
My wife’s a Realtor. And no, I’m not wondering if you or anyone you know would like to buy or sell a home in Walla Walla, WA. That would be a crass and brazen misuse of this forum. Though if...
The evolution of a pandemic
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Aug 12, 2022
As the pandemic becomes endemic, we can’t drop the push to vaccinate.
Lessons under anesthesia
By
Gary Tetz
Jul 12, 2018
Nothing ever makes me feel more empathy for those we care for than my own occasional reluctant forays into our American healthcare pseudo-system. I just walked a mile in somebody else’s figurative...
Attracting new residents
By
Seymour H. Fine, Ph. D.
Feb 17, 2014
Despite the rapidly growing elderly population, senior living communities sometimes have empty apartments and the worry is that prospective residents will look askance at a facility having more than a...
No place for a pessimist
By
Gary Tetz
Feb 22, 2024
My new co-worker’s eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation when he said it, like a child on Christmas morning expecting to find a Red Ryder BB gun under the tree. “I love...
The beauty of bad publicity
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 28, 2014
When I saw the New York Times article illuminating the clever ways devious operators could inflate their Medicare star ratings, I had mixed emotions ranging from fury to rage.
Have we lost our connection to what’s important?
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Aug 15, 2014
We sometimes use high-minded phrases to describe our work and our hopes for our patients. But have we lost our connection to important words? Do they still hold meaning they once did, and if so, how strongly?
Put analytics to work as the population ages
By
Drew Goddin
Feb 26, 2014
The pressure is on. As the population ages, nursing homes will have to play a more central role in helping realize the national mandate of reducing healthcare costs while improving its quality.
Where are the long-term care professionals?
By
Mary Helen McSweeney
Oct 02, 2013
The number of older adults and adults with disabilities in the United States is rapidly increasing. Individuals looking for rewarding healthcare careers in a competitive job market should be filling all...