While plodding a narrow, precipitous path high on the flank of Mt. Rainier this week, I saw a father and his young daughter approaching on the trail. She was an adorable child of maybe 4 or 5, all decked...
If only nursing homes were banks
By
Brendan Williams
Mar 17, 2023
I went to high school in Iowa, where 19 nursing homes closed in 2022 alone. Surely, you might think, this has prompted a federal response.It isn’t. Instead, the federal government has chosen to bail...
Living in a Hot Pocket world
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 26, 2022
You ever wonder about the fascination about Hot Pockets? To me, I suppose the allure is that it promises immediate satisfaction.
Three labor management practices to improve care, compliance and cost
By
Mark Woodka
Nov 22, 2010
Controlling labor costs in long-term care increasingly is important in this environment of tight reimbursements and challenging economic conditions.
A mantra in wake of coronavirus: Stay home and save a life
By
Michael Wasserman
Mar 11, 2020
The year was 1985. I was an intern in the cardiac intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. A man who was the well-known voice for several animated television characters was laying on a gurney....
A word of warning: Beware of staffing ratio violations
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Nov 21, 2022
We are all waiting to see the possibility of proposed rules over federal minimum staffing ratios in nursing homes. But with possible federal minimum staffing ratios looming, let’s make sure the government...
My advice for life with coronavirus: Don’t forget to breathe
By
Tamar Abell
Mar 16, 2020
We are in crazy times. Actually, it’s a step beyond crazy times. The world has hunkered down and is watching this COVID-19 unravel. Nothing is the same. I never expected to receive a call from a close...
The exhaustion epidemic
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Feb 08, 2022
I was tempted to listen to the STAT News event, “The exhaustion epidemic: Examining the COVID-19 burnout crisis in health care,” while lying prone on the couch. Instead, I took notes and considered...
The life-changing magic of ABBA-ing up
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 12, 2017
Even though I’ve decided not to make my usual naïve New Year’s recommendations to veteran long-term care professionals, maybe a quick review of some important industry news from the profession’s...
Google is one of the best places to work. Can nursing homes emulate it?
By
Jasmine Travers, Ph.D., R.N.,
Jan 18, 2023
Staffing shortages in nursing homes are worse now than ever before. In 2019, 588,000 certified nursing assistant (CNA) positions in nursing homes needed to be filled. Since the start of the pandemic, 238,000...