Why it’s impossible to maintain prior levels of care quality, and what to do about it
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 24, 2018
Residents and their family members are likely to expect that when they enter long-term care, staff members will provide compassionate medical treatment. Instead, what they frequently find are stressed...
What’s all this about PBJ?
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Aug 30, 2016
Why are they keeping track of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? I appreciate their concern that residents might have our lunches served late, but what about the tuna fish sandwiches? And the chicken?...
The keys to reducing turnover in long-term care
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Feb 07, 2014
The turnover rate in long-term care is a very significant problem, so I dug into the research about it. Some of the findings were shocking. Others were simply very disappointing. Here’s what I found,...
The ticklish balancing act: Resident rights vs. care quality
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 08, 2018
Balancing the rights and desires of residents with the need of the facility to avoid citation and litigation can be very tricky, but the payoff can be definitely worth it when done right. Here’s...
A hopeful day at LeadingAge 2018
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Nov 07, 2018
I headed to the 2018 LeadingAge convention last week looking for a fix of long-term care enthusiasm and that’s exactly what I got.
9 reasons why it’s better to congregate than disperse short-term rehab residents
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Aug 28, 2018
In most of my long-term care career, I’ve witnessed short-term rehabilitation residents housed together. But not always. I don’t know the reasoning behind dispersing residents, but from my...
Upcoming quality initiatives
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 01, 2016
More quality initiatives are on the horizon for many providers, and they address a wide array of necessary topics. Here are a couple of experts’ insights.
7 employee wellness ideas for the holidays (and beyond)
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Dec 08, 2015
After a staff training on reducing burnout in long-term care last week, a look through the evaluation forms was illuminating. A significant number of attendees — mostly nursing aides, nurses, and environmental...
Secrets to making your environment ’emotionally healing’
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 22, 2013
Back when I worked in psych, one of our most effective tools to improve mental health was maintaining a healing emotional environment, or therapeutic milieu. That’s why I was shocked when I first...
4 ways to find out why your aides are leaving
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Sep 27, 2016
Once, when I worked for a managed care company, I rode down a packed elevator with the CEO, who commented drily on the crowd, saying, “It must be 5:01.” What I thought, but did not say, was...