Did you know that September 1 was “No Rhyme or Reason Day”? Apparently, there is a day to celebrate words that don’t rhyme and things that don’t make sense. This gets me thinking...
Think before you open your mouth in court!
Aug 25, 2015
Unfortunately, in this litigious society, and especially as long-term care professionals, we are sometimes put in a position to open our mouths in court. If you worry about this, relax. You can’t...
Recovering or healing?
By
Julie Thorson
Oct 13, 2021
Does acceptance of “what is” indicate defeat? For a leader with competition as one of her top five strengths, I’ve struggled with this question the last few months. Maybe you have also. To...
Vaccines: Saving face
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Aug 03, 2021
I watched warily as Leo wheeled his cart onto the elevator with me, his mask below his nose. He used to pull it up when he saw me, mindful of the many conversations we’d had about getting the vaccine,...
Breaking news I want to hear
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 19, 2022
I have to admit that when I saw the news headline last week, “BREAKING: CMS cuts SNF pay rates by net $320 million,” I felt a kick-’em-while-they’re-down discouragement.
Have we become too accepting of high turnover?
By
Kristin Baird
Aug 27, 2020
A few years ago, when managing a big project for a long term care company, I was struck by their high turnover among nurses and nursing assistants. When I brought up my concerns to the chief HR officer,...
Resolving that tension between clinical and financial leadership
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 27, 2020
It’s time to give purchasing agents more room to operate in long-term care. Here’s why, and now here’s a group that can help their efforts.
Journey of Heroes deserves showing, not telling
By
Gary Tetz
Dec 15, 2016
Every year about this time, I tell you eagerly and often weepily about “The Trip.” The one where 12 veterans, many of them from World War II and living in long-term care, get to hop on a plane...
Staffing: solved
By
Gary Tetz
Aug 27, 2015
When I was a wee boy living in the Canadian wilderness, we needed to dig a well, so my dad hired a creepy-looking guy called a “water witch” to wander the property holding a forked stick out...
Administration and CMS’s big fix
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Mar 15, 2022
I think a lot of us were a little ticked off with the State of the Union address and the administration’s focus on improving the quality of care provided in America’s nursing homes. We all know we...