Grim but unwavering: Notes from the COVID-19 epicenter
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 07, 2020
Hopefully, facilities in other parts of the country will be spared what we’re going through in New York City, where 1 in 4 facilities had COVID residents as of last week’s reports. It is, in a word,...
Benefits of acknowledging success
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 09, 2019
Dealing with extensive regulations, reimbursement challenges, elaborate documentation requirements and a punitive environment can erode the joy of helping elders. Acclamation for accomplishments, on the...
Turnover reporting: This is going to be good*
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 11, 2022
Late last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that they will begin to post staff turnover data on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website. In July, turnover will be incorporated...
Would you want to live in the LTC home where you work?
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 17, 2013
I used to live in a fabulous old fourth-floor walk-up apartment in Manhattan. When I moved out of Manhattan to a borough of New York City for an elevator building with a laundry room in the basement, I...
From abysmal to mediocre: Encouraging hand hygiene
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jun 21, 2016
I’ve become more diligent over the years (read: paranoid) about making an effort to sanitize my hands as I move from room to room. But I wonder about those whose roles in long-term care don’t...
Correcting long-term care’s image problem
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Feb 14, 2017
Long-term care has an image problem. For a variety of reasons, we aren’t associated with good times. There are things we can do to turn this around, though, starting with the perceptions of our residents.
7 powerful ways to deliver family-centered care
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Sep 15, 2015
When a resident enters long-term care, we tend to focus solely on the needs of the resident, even though they’re almost always part of a family system that is being affected by their placement. If...
How to give feedback that gets results
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 12, 2021
Whether coaching supervisors on leadership skills or teaching employees to follow proper infection control procedures, the way in which feedback is offered can have an enormous impact on how it’s received...
Parting thoughts, and a pricey problem
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 17, 2022
While I haven’t run out of material, I’m tapping out my last column because I don’t want to run out of time. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from sitting by the bedsides of elders in the...
And the Oscar goes to…
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 28, 2020
Rather than stew about the overdressed, self-congratulators flaunting at the Academy Awards ceremony, I’ve decided to give out my own Oscars — to the loving, deserving stakeholders in the various...