The urgent need for better grief support for SNF management
By
Frances M. Hawes, Ph.D.
Jul 31, 2023
Grief and loss are a natural part of life, and they are particularly prevalent in nursing homes where residents often have advanced age and multiple health conditions. Data from my recent research...
Achieving next-level quality improvement in skilled nursing facilities
By
Stephanie Mercado
Lenard Parisi
Aug 18, 2023
Today’s skilled nursing facilities face many challenges in the delivery of high-quality and safe care for vulnerable patient populations. Significantly, the very limited resources available in...
Restart rehabilitation
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Dec 06, 2023
I’ve been a physical therapist for a very long time, and as I prepare to renew my license for the four millionth time, I reflect on how my profession has changed. All of our professions have changed...
Moving the needle in nursing home vaccination rates
By
Michael Wasserman
Leslie Eber
Feb 14, 2024
On February 29, 2020, the first Coronavirus nursing home outbreak was reported by the media. Experts in geriatric and long-term care medicine immediately understood the dangers to nursing home residents....
Why healthcare cybersecurity should be a top priority
By
Joel Landau
Jul 17, 2023
In the healthcare sector, cybersecurity has quickly emerged as the most significant vulnerability. Skilled nursing facilities and other long-term care centers are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks...
The MDS on Christmas vacation: ‘It’s a beaut Clark, it’s a beaut!’
By
Joel VanEaton
Nov 28, 2023
I love this time of year. Christmas is on its way. I especially love the holiday movie classics, “A Christmas Story,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “White Christmas,”...
Embracing end-of-life choices: A journey with Grandma
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 02, 2024
At the beginning of the year, my grandmother found herself in an acute-care hospital, addressing blood clots in her legs and lungs. Having just recovered from COVID-19 at the age of 100, uncertainty loomed...
The federal Medicaid bait and switch
By
Stephen A. Moses
Nov 06, 2023
It was supposed to work like this. When people need long-term care, they pay privately until they’re impoverished. Then and only then Medicaid helps. To avoid that outcome, people were urged to save...
How government prevaricates about long-term care
By
Stephen A. Moses
Feb 23, 2024
Most federal officials and the analysts who advise them are progressives. They prefer public over private sector solutions for most social problems. Sometimes progressives bend the truth to tip public...
The red bird: A story of connection and meaning
By
Martie Moore
Dec 15, 2023
My encounters with the red bird had been limited until a week after my mother died. I was sitting on the couch, consumed with grief when it first arrived. The red bird flew to the transom and peered...