HBO documentary reveals a certified nursing assistant’s struggle
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 18, 2014
President Lyndon Johnson highlighted impoverished families in Appalachia when he declared a “war on poverty.” Fifty years later, as the nation takes stock of how successfully we’ve waged...
Provider networks: Too big to succeed?
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 28, 2014
At this point, you’re well aware that the Affordable Care Act is putting pressure on post-acute providers to partner with hospitals and physician groups. A recent whistleblower case in California...
I saw the (nursing home) sign, and it opened up my eyes
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 03, 2013
When talking to long-term care leaders about new construction or facility renovations, I hear the word “residential” spoken often, and with great excitement and pride. And I’ve accepted...
Former nursing home aide writes powerful poems
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 07, 2014
Janice N. Harrington worked as a nursing home aide in college, and she drew on that experience to write “The Hands of Strangers: Poems from the Nursing Home.” This book-length collection of...
In dementia’s crosshairs, women speak out
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 25, 2014
Alzheimer’s disease does not discriminate. Or so we’ve been repeatedly told — for example, when “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher died, almost exactly one year ago. But a report out...
This American Life … and death: Superb shows about hospice
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 29, 2014
A few months after Pattie Burnham started working as a hospice nurse, she forgot the name of the president of the United States. That’s normal, her boss told her.
Of Purell and payment reform
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2013
I was sympathetic when the Partnership for Sustainable Health Care called for a speedier shift away from fee-for-service last week — and I also thought about Purell. Yes, that Purell.
Community connections and quarters: How one nursing home responded to a 45-day water crisis
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 08, 2014
In its forthcoming emergency preparedness guidelines for long-term care facilities, maybe the government should include this directive: The facility is to cultivate strong relationships with area businesses...
CPR in nursing homes: The debate turns upside down under
By
Tim Mullaney
May 07, 2013
Intrepid Daily Show correspondent John Oliver recently headed Down Under. His assignment: Find out how Australia’s strict gun control measures have played out since being passed in the mid-1990s....
It’s time to stop long-term care state rankings
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 24, 2014
Minnesota routinely is named best state for long-term care, as it was last week in AARP’s 2014 scorecard. AARP held a panel discussion to unveil the rankings, and of course an official from Minnesota...