COVID-19 is now responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 residents and staff in the 15,000 nursing homes in this country. I’ve been in this field 40 years —as a certified nursing assistant,...
Music and the mind: Using an iPod to treat Alzheimer’s
By
Concetta M. Tomaino
Dec 23, 2009
The popular music device known as the iPod is a great way to help trigger memories and improve functioning in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Does your nursing home have room to improve? Consider a Civil Monetary Penalty Grant program
By
Peg Tobin
Jan 03, 2020
Could this be your facility or one that you know? A marketing consultant visited a skilled nursing facility recently and was set back by the response she received. This was her experience: “To get inside,...
Do you have a silo mentality in your residential facility?
By
Herb Hildebrandt, Ph.D, Hl.D.
Feb 07, 2020
A generalization: Most groups, such as seniors living in retirement communities, have within them social, professional territories. That is, there is an assumption that groups, clusters, committees, political...
Words matter more than ever
By
Martie Moore
Aug 27, 2021
One of my favorite quotes is from the author of “Kitchen Table Wisdom.” Rachel Naomi Remen often writes about storytelling as a vital process to the sharing of knowledge and to gain renewal. “Everybody...
Transitions of Care III — Scarier than a horror movie: Medication errors
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Aug 11, 2011
We’ve been talking for a while about transitioning of our residents to and from the facility and some of the problems associated with it. But let’s talk now about just one huge problem, that...
Remember when: Reminiscence Therapy
By
Renee Kinder
Jan 31, 2019
All we have left, Mrs. Kinder, is a brand new Mercedes … We will have to upgrade your rental car this week for free. Is that going to be OK? I laugh out loud and respond, “Of course that is all you...
Feeling cynical? Find a veteran
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 29, 2014
Feeling a little cynical about life or country? Spend a day with a few World War II veterans on the National Mall. I guarantee a complete recovery, or your money back.
Lost in Medicare Part D land
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 10, 2013
My mom called me to relay her “tragic” story of trying to sign up for a Medicare Part D plan. She hadn’t signed up for one, and didn’t feel that she needed one, but at lunch her...
Why is it so easy to ignore Medicare improper payments?
By
Kristin Walter
Oct 28, 2015
Recovery auditors corrected more than $2.57 billion in improper payments for FY 2014 – representing 5% of the $46 billion in wasted taxpayer dollars the program lost in a comparable period to fraud,...