Here’s my latest article at McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Is Your Workplace Psychologically Healthy? In long-term care we spend a lot of time focused on the physical health of those in our care. With increased emphasis on culture change and the update to the MDS (and hopefully as a result of this column), we’ve begun [...]
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On Monday, I blogged about a contest to transform “a day in the life of the resident.” I like this contest because it asks staff members for their often-overlooked expertise, and is designed to improve life for the residents, centering the nursing home day around their needs rather than vice versa. I got an update on [...]
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Back in August 2011, I posted about A Contest for Person-Centered Care, run by the Ensign Group, asking those working at their facilities to transform “a day in the life of the resident.” The goal was to change the daily experience of the resident as a cog going through the wheels of the nursing home [...]
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The video clip I posted last week from the movie Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory has “gone viral.” There were well over 6.5 million views as of last Saturday, when I saw the documentary and post-film discussion and spoke with Dan Cohen, the social worker who started the ipod project. Here are [...]
Read MoreThere have been people living with advanced dementia in every nursing home I’ve been in. They sit silently in chairs and recliners, lining the hallways or packed into the day room, where the TV creates the illusion of a pastime. This residents often seem unreachable, locked in their own private worlds, not responding to questions [...]
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I always enjoy reading about senior recreation programs that offer options way beyond bingo. Not that there’s anything wrong with bingo, but when it’s my turn, I’ll be looking for a nursing home with a substantial activities schedule. A reader — thanks, RR — informed me of the success of the college-level psychology courses he [...]
Read MoreWilliam Losefsky, Director of Safety, Security & Emergency Management for the New Hampshire State Veterans Home contributed today’s post. I found it very touching, and I’d like to hear more ways in which nursing homes acknowledge the loss of their residents. If you have a ceremony you’d like to share with MBNH readers, please email [...]
Read MoreVolunteering in a nursing home can be a rewarding, life-changing experience for many people and for a variety of reasons, some of which I’ve posted below. Please add your thoughts in the Comments section. For more on nursing home volunteers, see my earlier posts: Why Every Nursing Home Should Have a Volunteer Coordinator (and what [...]
Read MoreIn addition to meeting the needs of residents, enhancing community relations, and increasing the visibility of and referrals to the nursing home, Volunteer Coordinators provide a huge bang for the buck. Ellen Stein, Director of Volunteer Services at the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in New York City, shares her secrets for obtaining 600 [...]
Read MoreI recently heard about a nursing home that held a fundraiser to benefit survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. The home, with many Haitian residents and staff members, wanted a way to express their sadness and show support for their friends, coworkers, and the people of Haiti. Residents baked cookies in their “Bakers’ Club” to [...]
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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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