What do you do when a resident crosses the threshold and your organization needs to address quality of death? We all know that there is a great emphasis, appropriately so, on a resident’s quality...
Emotional Teflon
By
Julie Thorson
May 25, 2022
Energy exchange is a real thing. Feeding off other people’s energies can be great, but other times, somebody’s toxic energy can stick to you and ruin your day. I am no scientist, I’m not even a...
Understand the resident to understand the behavior: Part 2
By
Richard Juman, PsyD
Jan 08, 2018
I am frequently asked to consult about “inappropriate” behavior in skilled nursing facilities. The question is usually something like: “We have a resident who is doing ‘X behavior’—...
Breaking down the therapy changes
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Nov 08, 2021
Proposed rules almost always become final rules. On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (after threatening for four years) finalized the 15% payment reduction for outpatient...
Facts, not anecdotes, must guide long-term care policy
By
Brendan Williams
Feb 14, 2020
An oft-repeated canard that bedevils advocates for facility-based care is the assertion, by an organization that peddles Medicare insurance products, that “90% of people don’t want to be in a nursing...
The cheese has moved … will Sniff find it?
By
Steven Littlehale
Aug 23, 2017
Imagine my surprise when several people came bearing the shocking news that “the MDS will not matter anymore” and that RCS-1 is “the end of the MDS.” Wait, what? Not on your life!
Grace needed at separation: People don’t forget
By
Jeff Kortes
Dec 16, 2013
Handing in your resignation is rarely an easy event. As a leader, be it a program manager, assistant or an administrator, ask yourself this question: How do I treat people when they resign to take another...
Managing RCS-1
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Sep 18, 2017
The new Resident Classification System, which may be implemented Oct 1, 2018, is changing the game. I say “may be implemented” because there’s reason to believe that it may be delayed...
Finding unexpected blessings on the unexpected shift
By
Peg Tobin
Nov 27, 2019
During my days as a director of nursing, I sometimes found myself covering when someone else on staff called off. I remember being upset about one such shift when I had to “put on my big girl panties”...
When there Is not a good answer: Dealing with an unprecedented event inside nursing homes
By
Rebekah Bray
Oct 09, 2020
The images and news coverage from the early 2020 of devastated nurses and doctors, and the thousands of body bags and make-shift morgues in New York City, are burned in the memory of healthcare workers...