Over the years, I’ve spoken with hundreds and hundreds of people whose daily lives were interrupted by a health crisis that led them into long-term care. They’ve told me how challenging it can be and we’ve discussed the changes that have occurred and how to adapt to them. If they’re going back home, we talk [...]
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Mrs. Thomas was nervous on Monday, talking about the election and how the results would affect her and the rest of the country. “I spoke to my sister and she decided to vote for him,” she told me. ”I was so surprised. I’ve been voting the same way all my life and I’m not going [...]
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Hello, Folks! Summer is my favorite season and I’m going to take a little blog break and enjoy the rest of it. I’ll be back the week of September 10th (unless I can’t contain myself). Meanwhile, here’s an interesting article on end-of-life family reconciliation by Marc Agronin, MD: Struggling With an Abusive Aging Parent And [...]
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“How in the world am I going to chart this?” I wondered as I sat across from Nell, who filled her large wheelchair to overflowing. This was our second attempt at psychotherapy, which I’d discontinued a few months ago because I felt all my efforts had gone nowhere. Nell sat in her room all day, [...]
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“I had a couple of relapses this week,” Betty told me, looking ashamed. We’d been working in psychotherapy on her efforts not to snap at the aides and nurses who came to care for her. “I try not use to my call bell,” she went on. ”Sometimes I sit here for two hours thinking about [...]
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Ms. Williams was humming a tune as I rolled her wheelchair toward her room for our session. ”What’s that you’re singing?” I asked her. “I’m not singing, I’m humming. It’s a song I heard as a child. I can’t remember the words.” 84-year old Ms. Williams had been worryingly depressed for several weeks, and our [...]
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I hadn’t been on the North wing of the nursing home in a while, and when I saw Juanita Johnson sleeping in a geri-recliner, I turned to the nurse, aghast. ”I barely recognized her! She’s lost so much weight!” “I know. It’s terrible,” the nurse replied. ”We’re having her evaluated by hospice today.” Ms. [...]
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She sat quietly in her wing chair, lost in thought . Hearing my knock and spying me standing in the doorframe, she sighed. ”You might as well come in, but I have nothing to say.” “That’s what you tell me every week, and then you talk my ear off!” I teased her. She smiled. ”That’s [...]
Read More“Well,” I said to Wanda, standing up at the end of our session, “I’ll see you next week, Love.” “Okay, Honey,” she replied. I laughed. “What’s so funny?” she asked. “I called you ‘Love’ and you called me ‘Honey.’” She laughed. I walked out of the room smiling.
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“Hi, Mabel! Do you have some time to talk to me?” Mabel, I knew, had all the time in the world, since she refused to go to activities. She sat across from the nursing station, her hefty frame filling her extra-large wheelchair, watching the nursing staff, the other residents, and the passersby. “If you want [...]
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Eleanor Feldman Barbera, PhD, author of The Savvy Resident's Guide, is a speaker and consultant sharing insights gleaned over sixteen years as a nursing home psychologist. She’s been in resident rooms and at the nursing stations, talking with residents, families, line staff, and administrators. She’s spoken with policy makers and CEOs of large chain nursing homes, with researchers, and watchdog agencies.
Dr. El can teach you how to create a nursing home where EVERYBODY thrives.
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