I suspect there’s one task that unites us all: ordering, distributing and systematically demolishing a box (or two, or three …) of Girl Scout cookies.
Commencement speech season heats up
By
Mary Gustafson
May 24, 2012
Since I am sucker for celebrity commencement addresses, mid- to late-May is like my own, personal Christmas.
Kittens for the weary long-term care soul
By
Mary Gustafson
Oct 04, 2012
At the start of the so-called Great Recession, I was fortunate enough to have what can only be described as a dream job. For about nine months I worked for a food industry trade magazine covering new product...
A Day in the Life: Culture change for a younger set
By
Mary Gustafson
Feb 01, 2012
If you were to visit the young adult care unit at Ecumen Bayshore Health Center, in Duluth, MN, chances are that Lady Gaga would be playing on a resident’s stereo, and a group would be gathered around...
True neighborhood model
By
Mary Gustafson
Sep 01, 2012
A new Touchstone community in Texas offers state-of-the-art care that focuses on dignity, choice to bring residents together
Musings on moving
By
Mary Gustafson
Aug 30, 2012
For the last week I’ve tripping over cardboard boxes, but landing, safely, on mounds of bubble wrap. It’s the end of the month, and like many apartment- and office-building dwellers, I’m...
A failure to communicate
By
Mary Gustafson
Jun 21, 2012
Basic communication is often overlooked for nursing home managers. Promoting leadership among team members and empowering staff is effective in building teamwork.
Ethics panels tested as they determine seniors’ final wishes
By
Mary Gustafson
Apr 05, 2012
The thorny matter of a resident’s end-of-life wishes no doubt keeps many people in the nursing home profession up at night. New Jersey is working to firm up a program it has that deploys roving ethics...
Future and past in the plan
By
Mary Gustafson
May 02, 2011
The Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home honors residents by respecting and promoting their past, and protecting their future.
He’s tuned in to resident choice
By
Mary Gustafson
Jun 01, 2011
When iPods, the popular portable music players, started to become ubiquitous in about 2006, licensed social worker Dan Cohen Googled “iPods and nursing homes.” He found no connection between...