In every facility there is at least one family member who tries to take over the care and decision making for their loved one. The term is “Helicopter Children.” Helicopter Children observe their...
My high-sodium epiphany
By
Gary Tetz
Jun 27, 2019
In long-term care, we deal with the unexpected all the time. Many of the people we serve are there because something unanticipated happened, crashing into their lives like a no-warning tsunami — or a...
Who else is using Five-Star? (Who isn’t?)
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 14, 2016
I continue to be struck by how deep Five-Star has worked its way into the countless nooks and crannies of our industry. It’s far beyond what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intended...
Return the reporter’s phone call, or pay the price
By
Linda Arters
Mar 11, 2013
News alert to all decision makers in the long term care industry: Prepare to communicate during a crisis BEFORE a crisis communicates for you.
Vaccine hesitancy? Or vaccine denial?
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Jun 14, 2021
Spring has sprung and I am finally seeing my neighbors in their yards again. We’re washing cars, watering seedlings, rototilling and playing with our dogs. I have a neighbor who is a very smart and...
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,...
Taking time to connect and renew — we need it now more than ever
By
Penny Cook
Aug 16, 2020
In 1997, a group of 32 people gathered in Rochester, New York, with a belief that the world of nursing homes should and could be different. They decided to formalize their gathering, named themselves the...
Facility assessment, emergency preparedness and QAPI — a service delivery exercise
By
Jason Elizaitis
Jul 10, 2017
Your post-acute/long-term care organization should be well on its way to developing its Facility Assessment, Emergency Preparedness Plan and written QAPI plan for compliance by November 2017. The best...
Who are you wearing: A director responds
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Sep 16, 2016
Patients and families, whether new to long-term care or veterans, get a first impression by our manner, our speech, and our clothes. Make the first impression the best one.
A right of passage or a risk of passing?
Apr 05, 2016
When I die, I want to go like my grandmother, peacefully in her sleep … not like the three passengers screaming in the back seat of her Buick! (OK, old joke). But what isn’t a joke is elders...