In a death-phobic nation, long-term care embraces the ultimate privilege
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 21, 2022
Some in long-term care wake up thinking of pay cuts, business survival or reform. Me? I awoke this morning thinking about cremation.
A lasting lesson from Barbara Bush
By
Anthony Back, M.D., and Terry Fulmer, Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Jun 08, 2018
For many patients and their families, the notion of choosing to stop life-prolonging treatment is unthinkable. Disagreements over when to “give up” can tear families apart, precisely at a time...
Addressing quality of death
By
Linda Elizaitis
May 05, 2014
What do you do when a resident crosses the threshold and your organization needs to address quality of death? We all know that there is a great emphasis, appropriately so, on a resident’s quality...
Absenteeism and turnover in LTC? Death anxiety could be the cause
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 03, 2013
I started working in long-term care when I was in my early 30s and I was shocked at first when the residents died. I was used to falling in love with my patients. In order to make it in LTC, I’ve...
Are you ready for some (neurodegenerative disease inducing) football?
By
John O'Connor
Sep 07, 2012
Football has become our national sport. This wonderful, tough game has been turning boys into men for generations. But it may also be turning men into nursing home residents way before their time.
Nursing: the happiest job in the world … or not
By
Mary Gustafson
Aug 02, 2012
Even if I hadn’t been raised by a nurse, and even if I didn’t write about the basic functions of their jobs on a daily basis for McKnight’s, I would probably still idolize them. That...
When bad policies get due notice
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 22, 2012
You can thank some boneheaded long-term care executives from across the pond for the latest black eye to your profession.
Coping with a death too soon
By
John O'Connor
Feb 17, 2012
You will not last long in this field unless you learn how to deal with dying and death. They are inescapable realities in a profession where most customers are old and sick. But there is no way to be completely...