If there’s one critical tool to becoming an exceptional leader, it’s not drive, smarts or even likeability. It’s the ability to listen.
Managing time for staff to reflect after a resident’s death
By
Elizabeth Newman
Oct 23, 2014
Singing “Amazing Grace” or playing a ukelele version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” may not immediately spring to mind as ways to help staff members grieve after a resident has...
Accepting what nurses cannot fix
By
Elizabeth Newman
Jul 17, 2014
Like perhaps many of you, I come from a long line of “fixers.” Multiple people whose schedules are conflicting? We’ll coordinate. Someone isn’t able to find a job? We’ll provide...
Why the Supreme Court will vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 03, 2012
You may not like — nay, hate — the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Supreme Court may agree with you. That doesn’t mean the justices will strike it down.
CLASS Act math
By
Liza Berger
Dec 01, 2009
If you are confused about the financial implications of the highly publicized CLASS Act, you are not alone. If it’s supposed to be solvent and actuarially sound over the long term, why is the program...
Catheters, infections and … you don’t want to know
By
Elizabeth Newman
Mar 06, 2012
Urinary catheters were on my radar twice last week. The first involved a late-night trip to the vet with an unhappy cat. The second, a political animal.
The ‘abuse’ icon debuts on Nursing Home Compare
By
James M. Berklan
Oct 23, 2019
We learned two main things when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services debuted its nursing home “abuse” icon Wednesday.
A winning score: 20 years of helping hands
By
James M. Berklan
Jan 07, 2015
An old parable says that if you’re wondering whether acquiring a great new tool or developing a staff member is more important, try putting that tool in the hands of an incompetent worker.
Why jurors might overlook gruesome testimony against nursing homes
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 05, 2014
In reporting on lawsuits against long-term care providers, I’ve spoken to plaintiffs’ lawyers who rival Stephen King in their descriptions of misery and gore. So I understand why nursing home...
The solution to nursing homes’ COVID-19 testing shortages
By
James M. Berklan
Aug 14, 2020
Fret no more. I’ve figured out how to get plenty of COVID-19 testing to take place at nursing homes. The federal government may have wished for more testing of residents and workers, but my plan has...