The World According to Dr. El by Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Parting thoughts, and a pricey problem
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 17, 2022
While I haven’t run out of material, I’m tapping out my last column because I don’t want to run out of time. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from sitting by the bedsides of elders in the…
Mental health, everywhere
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 03, 2022
These days, mental health in long-term care is getting far more attention than it used to. After 25 years as a nursing home psychologist, it’s pretty exciting to see. I perused the April print edition…
Breaking news I want to hear
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 19, 2022
I have to admit that when I saw the news headline last week, “BREAKING: CMS cuts SNF pay rates by net $320 million,” I felt a kick-’em-while-they’re-down discouragement.
Bridging the disconnect between leaders and workers
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Apr 05, 2022
As I reviewed the many recent long-term care happenings and articles to select a topic for this week’s blog, my mind kept returning to the fascinating column by researchers Lindsey Creapeau and Jennifer…
A conversation about mental health in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 22, 2022
I had the pleasure of being interviewed recently by Susan Ryan, senior director of The Green House Project, for her Elevate Eldercare podcast. As I remarked to her, what could be better than talking with…
Antipsychotic medication reduction and the severely mentally ill population
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 08, 2022
President Biden’s State of the Union address last week targeted several aspects of the long-term care industry, most of which have received more attention than his mention of reducing the inappropriate…
Strategies to improve workforce participation
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Feb 22, 2022
These short-term strategies from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine could improve workforce participation.
The exhaustion epidemic
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Feb 08, 2022
I was tempted to listen to the STAT News event, “The exhaustion epidemic: Examining the COVID-19 burnout crisis in health care,” while lying prone on the couch. Instead, I took notes and considered…
How to create an environment that reduces turnover
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 25, 2022
As I stated in my last column, improving the emotional tenor of the facility can decrease staff turnover. In this piece, I’ll offer additional ideas to achieve that goal. Most organizations have…
Turnover reporting: This is going to be good*
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 11, 2022
Late last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that they will begin to post staff turnover data on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website. In July, turnover will be incorporated…
The path forward for long-term care
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Dec 21, 2021
With staffing shortages, reduced occupancy, the ongoing pandemic and other challenges, it’s a worrisome time for long-term care. A scan of trade headlines might even make one pessimistic about the future…
If you give the staff a livable wage…
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Dec 07, 2021
The longstanding story of long-term care staffing is that organizations can’t afford to increase the salaries of their workers due to Medicaid reimbursement deficits, rising expenses, tight margins and…
BBB Act provides opportunity to address LTC mental health needs
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Nov 23, 2021
In my last blog post, “Boosting team resilience,” I briefly touched upon the need to recognize the pandemic-related trauma experienced by staff members and to better prepare for future catastrophes. …
Boosting team resilience
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Nov 09, 2021
It’s no secret that many long-term care staffers are grappling with feelings of stress and burnout following their pandemic experiences. Burnout affects workers on a personal level, and it can also impact…
Ageism in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 26, 2021
As I listened last week to a web event on confronting ageism in healthcare, I found myself nodding in agreement with the participants, who were all themselves nodding at the comments of their collaborators. …
How to give feedback that gets results
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Oct 12, 2021
Whether coaching supervisors on leadership skills or teaching employees to follow proper infection control procedures, the way in which feedback is offered can have an enormous impact on how it’s received…
We need staff… NOW
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Sep 28, 2021
Last year, as the pandemic raged in New York City and sirens filled the air, a group of young travel nurses arrived to assist weary long-term care teams. They took over nursing stations that had been depleted…
Reducing the impact of cascading collective trauma in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Sep 14, 2021
I spent most of last weekend doing what I could to avoid the 9/11-related headlines in the news. With my Manhattan-below-14th-Street recollections of the event, last year’s immersion in the pandemic…
How to keep working in LTC (when you’re not sure how much more you can take)
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Aug 31, 2021
When I speak to long-term care groups, whether to those in leadership positions or to direct care staff, it’s clear that virtually all the audience members have been drawn to the industry because of…
As the editors of the June 2021 volume of The Gerontologist put it, “Workforce issues are the most significant challenges facing the long-term care industry.” This special edition of the journal…
