What do you do when a resident crosses the threshold and your organization needs to address quality of death? We all know that there is a great emphasis, appropriately so, on a resident’s quality...
Embracing end-of-life choices: A journey with Grandma
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 02, 2024
At the beginning of the year, my grandmother found herself in an acute-care hospital, addressing blood clots in her legs and lungs. Having just recovered from COVID-19 at the age of 100, uncertainty loomed...
What ‘do everything’ can mean
By
Angelo E. Volandes, M.D.
Feb 04, 2015
The day I met Mrs. Bartlett at my hospital, she was an 89-year-old long-stay nursing home resident with moderate-to-severe dementia who was being transferred to my hospitalist service for shortness of...
It’s not morbid to talk about death … a lot
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 07, 2018
It’s not morbid to talk about death, even on the dance floor at your high school reunion.
Expanding support for families
By
Marian Hamilton
Jan 15, 2013
After my husband’s death in 2004, I thought how wonderful it would have been if there were a refuge in a hospital where caregivers could go to “escape” and recharge themselves — an...
Should we all want to die at 75?
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 30, 2014
Nursing homes would be put out of business if scientists discover how to stop the aging process, McKnight’s Editorial Director John O’Connor wrote in his blog yesterday. But the reverse is...