Setting minds and hearts at ease: a clinician’s guide to end-of-life-care conversations
By
Joseph Shega, M.D.
May 18, 2020
Having honest conversations with long-term care residents about their end-of-life wishes should always be a priority for primary care physicians, specialists and facility clinicians. The COVID-19 pandemic...
Second responders: Answering the call for help in long-term care
By
Debbie Pool
Wendy Boren
Aug 26, 2020
It was late afternoon on Jan. 30, 2020. A nurse from the Quality Improvement Program for Missouri (QIPMO) was leading a standard table top influenza pandemic exercise in Poplar Bluff when a call came through...
This too shall pass! PALTC is united
By
Arif Nazir, MD, CMD
Mar 30, 2020
When a crisis hits, besides shedding light on the system gaps, it also highlights the strengths of a community. The stresses of the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) have clearly highlighted the many...
Honoring our fallen
By
Sara Bender
May 04, 2022
“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” — Helen Keller. These past two years of the pandemic have presented clinical challenges...
Preventing pressure injuries, weight loss and dehydration while protecting residents from COVID-19
By
Jeri Lundgren
Apr 06, 2020
Proactive measures can prevent the unintended consequences of social isolation and lack of activity.
Taking time to connect and renew — we need it now more than ever
By
Penny Cook
Aug 16, 2020
In 1997, a group of 32 people gathered in Rochester, New York, with a belief that the world of nursing homes should and could be different. They decided to formalize their gathering, named themselves the...
Are we done with COVID? Is COVID done with us?
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Jul 25, 2023
At last. I haven’t worn a mask in public in months, I’m starting to see friends again, I’m eating in restaurants again, and my new normal is the old normal. Life is good. There’s some hesitation...
The floggings will continue until morale improves
By
Brendan Williams
Jun 25, 2020
Caught in the throes of a pandemic lethal to those they serve, nursing homes have been largely abandoned by policymakers. The $4.9 billion in federal relief provided in May was very welcome. However,...
Long-term care needs to get creative to deal with coronavirus staffing impact
By
Patrick McCormick
Mar 17, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is undeniably going to have a major impact on U.S. long-term care operators in the coming months. The virus is an unwelcome addition to an already long list of headaches for an...
Looking at COVID-19 through the eyes of residents with dementia
By
P.K. Beville
Aug 10, 2020
When I was in graduate school as a single parent, barely making ends meet, I lamented to my mother in loud, ugly sobs that I thought I might be going crazy. I was serious. My mother calmly responded,...