Wanna make a bet? I’ll bet you most people couldn’t care less that we are still in a public health emergency. The field that is very aware of this extension, is without a doubt, long-term care. But...
The coming crackdown: COVID-19 and beyond
By
Karen Christian
Matthew Hittle
Apr 21, 2021
For more than a year, America’s nursing homes have been besieged by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tragically claimed the lives of more than 130,000 residents and 1,600 staff. While America’s nursing...
Back to business as unusual
By
Jean Wendland Porter
May 30, 2023
On May 11, 2023, the Public Health Emergency ended in the United States. Obviously, the whole world is celebrating the diminished COVID-19 numbers and the drop in COVID-related deaths. But we’ve been...
Must we let COVID waltz in the front door?
By
Brendan Williams
Jan 14, 2022
My son is a freshman at a public university in the state of Washington that made the abrupt decision, late afternoon on the last day one could withdraw and receive a tuition refund, to go to online instruction...
Approaching the finish line
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Sep 13, 2021
I went to a wedding this month. Let me rephrase that: I went to a wedding that was a three-day, in-person, 125-attendees, sitting-at-tables-for-eight, extravaganza with family I haven’t seen in...
Now is the time to remove the slippers
By
Martie Moore
Feb 10, 2021
The noise overhead was deafening. I had relocated to the basement as the roofers tore off old and added new. Because of schedule delays, the roofing project careened into a day when I was scheduled to...
The killer hiding on the porch
By
Gary Tetz
May 19, 2022
I’m not easily surprised these days, because…everything. But I just stumbled across an astonishing bit of data.
Back to before census
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 10, 2021
One of my favorite lyrics from the musical “Ragtime” is “We can never go back to before.” The character Mother sings about no longer being a slave to societal expectations; she is confident, moving...
Where did person-directed care go?
By
Penny Cook
Mar 15, 2021
As we mark the one-year anniversary of life-altering changes brought about by COVID-19, I think about those aspects of life that left me, and those that have arrived. What has left me? Air travel,...
Post-pandemic population may require higher staffing levels
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 25, 2021
Before the pandemic, residents were admitted for rehabilitation following elective surgery or a health crisis. The rehab residents either returned home or joined the group of long-term residents who had...