A new kind of COVID-19-fueled drama unfolding right before our eyes
When providers get back to operating more the way they want to, will stakeholders be amused or will they feel like they’re watching an unfolding tragedy?
Daily Editors’ Notes
With mental health, healthcare workers may get worse before they’re truly better
As the saying goes, it’s often darkest just before dawn. But as the sun rises on a new era of COVID-19 — one in which cases and deaths are down and nursing homes seem on the precipice of some return to normalcy — another crisis may very well emerge from the shadows. Caring for beloved…
This is what true grit looks like
The devils in our midst seem to grab all too many headlines. Meanwhile, the angels quietly — and often heroically — simply do the hard work that must be done.
COVID death rates are way down. Now comes the hard part
Answering pleas to open up facility visitation policies is going to be trickier than many realize.
Time to roll up those sleeves and mandate vaccines
For the last month or so, we’ve spotlighted successes from the COVID-19 vaccine front, trying to understand which strategies truly help providers drive up acceptance rates. Even the smallest details appear critical when it comes to staff acceptance, which continues to lag behind residents’ by double digits nationally. Yet the detail that gets me is…
Yes, the immigration bill has a partisan flavor. Here’s why you should still support it.
As a child of immigrants who had to jump through a remarkable series of hoops to enter this country and become naturalized citizens, I view a new immigration bill in a special light.
Feeling besieged? Good news is here
Some incredibly heart-warming good has occurred for everyone in the profession this week. There’s more ahead, too.
Send a strike team while the fire is hot? Maybe not
Over the last few months, one phrase seems to have fallen out of favor when it comes to the virus that causes COVID-19. When was the last time you heard someone refer to it as the “novel coronavirus”? A year into this crisis, scientists and healthcare providers know so much more about SARS-CoV-2, from how…
Long-term care could use a new vanguard
Much has improved since I began covering this field in 1990. But, sadly, one discomforting reality remains. And if anything, it’s gotten worse.
Judged by the company we keep Part 2
With vaccinations taking hold, and infection and death rates gloriously tumbling it is no time for nursing home operators to lose awareness of their surroundings.
A new perspective on age-old, old-age issues
For nearly a decade, my freelance writing career included plenty of articles about chronic wounds, payment reform and pretty much anything else skilled-nursing related. Surely, I thought, I’d mastered enough acronyms and regulatory nuances to hold my own in most any conversation about long-term care. Then came the final weekend before the start of my…
Not really much of a ‘victory’
Operators can breathe a temporary sigh of relief. It looks like President Biden’s call for a $15 minimum wage won’t be happening soon.
The heart of it all and the birth of redeeming ideas
You had to look only in one place for a pair of fascinating long-term care stories this week.
A collective effort to vaccinate seniors
The pandemic, shamefully, has laid bare clear more divides between elderly populations than many of us may have previously thought possible.
Vaccine deniers reveal a troubling reality
In a world where good judgment rules, almost everyone would want protection against a deadly virus. Clearly, that’s not the world we live in. While two COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and more are on the way, many among us remain content to take their chances. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey of healthcare workers…
COVID-19 lawsuits: the ‘onslaught’ is coming, providers
I received my first speeding ticket on the way to see “Risky Business” at the theater when it first came out. Cruising over a hill on a country road after picking up a couple of friends, I never had a chance. My driving might have been a little risky but there was nothing chancey about…
Say it again. The vaccine is safe
I’m glad science is back in the driver’s seat. After all, we listen to plumbers for pipe problems and mechanics for car problems. So why not scientists for COVID-19?
Judged by the company we keep
I was reminded of one of my mother’s wise assessments last week while reading about two businessmen from our field who had a problem following rules.
After the great vaccine rally, LTC has another big concerted effort to look forward to
The world’s collective race to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines has been valuable in many ways.
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