Blogs, Guest Columns, Things I Think and Living Leadership
Understanding and addressing pain: Thoughts for therapists
By
Renee Kinder
Feb 01, 2024
In my continued endeavor to win Mother of the Year, I really racked up some points this week. Isaac, my youngest son, took a nice spill last Friday while skiing. He suffered what we thought...
Only wet babies
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jan 30, 2024
I have a friend who says, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby!” She may be right. Most people are not comfortable with change. I mean, I get it, some change can be scary. When something...
Nursing home staffing standards good for business, care and jobs
By
Matthew Yarnell
Jan 26, 2024
There is a crisis in our nation’s nursing homes. The pandemic showed us what happens when access to care is compromised, and we are calling on a staffing solution that brings more workers to the...
The blinking light
By
Gary Tetz
Jan 25, 2024
The office next to mine is empty. Well, not completely. A few pieces of furniture, an ugly lamp and some dog-eared file folders clutter the space a long-term care colleague once occupied. But that’s...
Release the hounds! The power of the MDS
By
Joel VanEaton
Jan 23, 2024
I am a Tennessee Volunteer fan through and through. Through all the ups and downs, I love Smokey, our hound dog mascot, wearing Volunteer orange, singing “Rocky Top,” watching the football team run...
The plight of the immigrant workforce: A moral dilemma of the current LTC environment
By
Moroni Fernandez Cajavilca
Jan 22, 2024
The long-term care industry has supported increasing the number of immigrant workers as a solution to the nationwide staffing shortages but has largely ignored the potential exploitative environment of...
Brushing away the risk: The crucial role of daily toothbrushing in preventing hospital-acquired pneumonia
By
Renee Kinder
Jan 18, 2024
A phenomenon that skilled nursing teams have long appreciated was recently highlighted in a recent article published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers Ehrenzeller and Klompas shed light on a critical...
A different perspective on dementia
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Jan 17, 2024
In the early 2000s I was called into a meeting at work that lasted two hours but changed my professional perspective on dementia care. At that meeting, our speaker was Naomi Feil. Mrs. Feil introduced...
Let’s fill 2024 with better than these bad ‘good’ ideas!
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jan 16, 2024
When you’re driving among heavy traffic, do you ever suddenly find yourself in a right turn-only lane? And you have like 50 feet to get over to the left, or you are forced to turn right? Who in the world...
A beautiful culture: A beautiful place to be a part of…
By
Martie Moore
Jan 12, 2024
I stood outside, looking at the building. It was nondescript and blended into the landscape as if to say, “I am unimportant.” I am ashamed that I had fleeting thoughts about the care of individuals...