No place like community: Discharge planning beyond the PHE
By
Renee Kinder
Feb 02, 2023
There is no better way to start the week and the slew of incoming emails than with a great belly laugh. One of the first messages in my inbox Monday elicited exactly such a response… It stated, “I’ve...
Celebrating poise and positivity in chaos
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 12, 2023
At the end of a long shift on Christmas Eve, two CNAs are chatting in the facility parking lot. “Rough day,” says one. “A family member yelled at me about problems I can’t solve and things that...
Put me in coach! Being a team player in 2023
By
Renee Kinder
Jan 05, 2023
What is your mindset, your attitude, your approach for the new year? Note I didn’t ask about your goal or your resolution. We all know that they are often broken by month’s end. As with many of my...
On Prancer, on Crasher …
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 22, 2022
At this festive time of year, it’s all-too-easy to be charmed and delighted by visions of reindeer leaping from rooftops and scampering across the sky. But before we let such images cloud our judgment,...
Are you nostalgic at Christmas? Section G elimination may be the right gift for you
By
Joel VanEaton
Dec 21, 2022
I love Christmas! Ever since I was a child, I have resonated with the sentiment in the movie, “A Christmas Story,” where the narrator, articulating Ralphie’s thoughts states, “Oh, but no matter....
Do you (unfortunately) hear what I hear?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Dec 20, 2022
It’s that time of year again. You can’t walk into a grocery store, mall or even a quick mart without listening to Christmas carols. I’ll admit I start listening to those Christmas carols right...
The practice of compassion: Yes, it is a practice
By
Martie Moore
Dec 16, 2022
Chaos was in the air. People moved quickly, with expressions of impatience and the occasional flash of anger. The workers were weary, the sea of faces was never ending and there was no holiday cheer in...
Improve your hearing, improve your mind
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Dec 12, 2022
Doesn’t it seem like our residents with hearing loss escalate their dementia risk? Or is it that our residents living with dementia lose their hearing? Hearing loss and dementia seem to go hand-in-hand. ...
CQAPI brings ‘significant and meaningful’ change
By
Amy S. Chidester
Nov 29, 2022
During my time developing and researching CQAPI (Comprehensive Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement) techniques for operators, I have become enamored with the history and the process of incontinence...
Let there not be light
By
Gary Tetz
Nov 17, 2022
It’s the first command in the Biblical creation story — let there be light. But if you’re working a night shift in a long-term care facility, I need you to stop reading this right now and go turn...