We have a tendency to think of someone as either healthy – and therefore without an urgent need for our healthcare or senior care system – or sick – and therefore high-cost and in a state...
Absenteeism and turnover in LTC? Death anxiety could be the cause
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 03, 2013
I started working in long-term care when I was in my early 30s and I was shocked at first when the residents died. I was used to falling in love with my patients. In order to make it in LTC, I’ve...
Looking to open eyes about ‘observations’
By
James M. Berklan
May 01, 2013
Bully for provider groups pulling out the stops to draw attention to the ludicrous mishandling of “observation stay” designations by many hospitals. One prong of the plan is to have providers...
Tapping the power of therapeutic music in long-term care
By
Carol Orsborn, Ph.D.
Apr 22, 2013
You know the music you love personally, and how listening to a certain song makes you feel. But how can you tap the power of music to simultaneously enhance the lives of the many people in your and your...
Pssst, here’s how the LTC lobby can eliminate the 3-day rule — and gain other Congressional perks
By
John O'Connor
Apr 19, 2013
You might not be old enough to remember the “Schoolhouse Rock” videos that aired between cartoons on Saturday mornings during the 1970s. One of my favorites was “I’m Just a Bill.”...
What the family wants
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 18, 2013
When it comes to talk about palliative care and rehospitalizations, what should a provider do when the family is insistent on sending their loved one back to the hospital?
Nurses gaining power … LTC style
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 17, 2013
How could we not see it coming? That’s the question I asked myself Tuesday.
Pharmacy partnerships help reduce readmissions
By
Tom Rhoads
Apr 16, 2013
Most of us are familiar with the statistics: one in five Medicare patients is readmitted within 30 days, at a cost of $26 billion annually. But the personal experiences behind readmissions tell a much...
The Boston Marathon explosions: Turn off the dayroom TV
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 16, 2013
I was hoping not to have occasion to write another column about tragedy so soon, but the terrible events at the Boston Marathon on Monday compel me to focus on the amount of information we provide to residents...
Of Purell and payment reform
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2013
I was sympathetic when the Partnership for Sustainable Health Care called for a speedier shift away from fee-for-service last week — and I also thought about Purell. Yes, that Purell.