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Dear Diary, Last week I attended my first AHCA convention … (McKnight’s LTC News)

Dr. El - October 16, 2014 - For Fun, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Personal Reflections

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:

Dear Diary, Last week I attended my first AHCA convention …

There’s nothing like the first time you get to meet people, attend education sessions and see the exhibit hall at the American Health Care Association, as I found out last week.

10/5/14, 2 p.m. — I just arrived in D.C. on the Bolt Bus. $40 round-trip from New York City. You can’t beat it with a stick. Now I have to get over to my hotel room and get ready to meet McKnight’s Editor Jim Berklan.

9:30 p.m. — Just came back from dinner with McKnight’s staff members Jim Berklan, John O’Connor, and Tim Mullaney. Really nice guys, really into long-term care. It made me proud to be part of McKnight’s.

10/6/14, 3 a.m. – I can’t sleep.

3:30 a.m. — I just downloaded the AHCA app. Very handy how I can see what programs are available and send them to my calendar.

6 a.m. — Time to get up and get ready for the convention!

8 a.m. — I’m sitting in the session led by Denise Boudreau-Scott, MHA, LNHA, on “Creating the Ultimate Customer Service Experience.” I can download her slides from the app!

9 a.m. — The talk confirmed my perceptions around customer service. I ran into an administrator I used to work with who said how hard it was to create the “ultimate customer service experience.” He should have asked me. I had plenty of suggestions for him. Instead I said, “Mmmm,” the classic noncommittal psychologist response. I’ll bet a lot of shrinks working in long-term care have great ideas for their facilities.

11:30 a.m. — Just heard General Colin Powell speak! He was witty, self-deprecating, on topic, and pointed in his criticism of current Washington politics. I’m very impressed.

1:30 p.m. — I’m in the expo hall now and OMG!!! I’m so excited. I finally got the chance to ride in a patient care lift after years of wanting to try one. (Thanks, ArjoHuntleigh staff.) Now I see what my residents have been talking about. A newer lift has a better angle than an earlier model and almost swaddles the rider, creating a sense of security lacking in the traditional device. Plus, it allows a person to be weighed in the lift instead of having to be transferred to the scale. Of course it costs more. But it seems worth it in terms of customer experience and staff time and effort saved in the weighing process.

For the entire article, visit:

Dear Diary, Last week I attended my first AHCA convention …

LTC Customer Service Fails topic of 10/16/14 radio show

Dr. El - October 15, 2014 - Business Strategies, Customer service, Resident care, Talks/Radio shows

Tomorrow, 10/16, I’ll be a guest on “When Things Go Wrong,” the Wharton Business Radio show of professor Christian Terwiesch. The live show is 10/16 at 4pm ET and I’ll be on at 4:30pm. Professor Terwiesch will be addressing customer services issues in long-term care. They don’t provide the questions in advance so I have no idea what he’s going to ask me, but I’ll do my best to represent psychology and long-term care while acknowledging the reality of occasional lapses in customer service.

If you want to listen live (or on-demand after the show is over), see below for a link to a 30-day free trial of SiriusXM.

I hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a very interesting discussion!

Here’s the link to a 30-day free trial of SiriusXM: http://www.siriusxm.com/freetrial

The interview will air live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio Channel 111, as well as online at SiriusXM.com. It will also be available on-demand online to SiriusXM subscribers for 30 days after the live broadcast. This trial will allow any non-subscribers to listen live online at SiriusXM.com and via the SiriusXM free mobile app. Business Radio is in the Talk and Entertainment section of the site. Please feel free to pass it along to any colleagues, followers, friends, etc.

If you would like to listen back to recent shows (or the interview afterward), you can do so by following the steps below.

Once you have the trial:

• Go to SiriusXM.com and sign in

• Click ‘Listen Online’ in top right corner

• Click ‘Shows On-Demand’

• Then search for the show by name – When Things Go Wrong

• Click on recent shows to listen

NHAideAnnoyed

Establishing rapport (an anecdote)

Dr. El - October 10, 2014 - Anecdotes, Common Nursing Home Problems and How Psychologists Can Solve Them, Role of psychologists

“I’M THE NEW PSYCHOLOGIST,” I screamed. “DO YOU HAVE A HEARING AID?”

“What?” Ms. Oakes replied.

The rest of our first session went downhill from there. I stopped at the nursing station on the way off the unit. “She never wears her hearing aid,” the nurse reported. “I’ve got it right here but she refuses.”

The following Thursday I approached Ms. Oakes with the hearing aid box in my hand. “I’M GOING TO PUT THIS IN, OKAY?” I pointed to the box, to my ear and then hers.

“All right.” She allowed me to fumble with the device and stick it in her ear.

“Can You Hear Me?”

“You want to know if I can hear you? Yes.” She looked worried. “I can’t find my glasses.”

“When Was The Last Time You Had Them?” I asked.

“When the girl took me for a shower this morning.” A pair of unmarked glasses in the shower room could disappear forever.

“I’m Going To Look For Them. I’ll Be Right Back.”

I returned a couple of minutes later with the glasses in my hand.

Ms. Oakes looked at me with amazement. “Lord a mercy, I didn’t ever think I’d see them again!”

I cleaned them off and slid them into place. She beamed.

Creative activities for residents with dementia (McKnight’s LTC News)

Dr. El - October 3, 2014 - Dementia, For Recreation Staff, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Something Good About Nursing Homes

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:

Creative activities for residents with dementia

Greetings from Montana! I was in Billings last week conducting a training session for the Montana Department of Health. An enthusiastic group of over 100 LTC staff members from various departments joined the discussion and I came away with some excellent suggestions on how to engage residents with dementia.

The subject of how to best provide care for people with dementia without using antipsychotic medications was a particularly hot one at the conference. As well it should have been.

The topic is particularly timely given that CMS has increased its antipsychotic reduction goal from 15% (below 2011 levels) this year to 25% next year and 30% below for 2016. As G. Allen Power, MD, pointed out in his recent McKnight’s article, antipsychotic medication reduction should be preceded by educating staff members about alternatives to medication.

One important alternative is offering activities that enrich the lives of people with dementia so that they’re engaged in positive pursuits that build on remaining strengths.

Many participants in the Montana training were from the recreation/activities/life enrichment departments and they shared some great ideas they’ve successfully used to engage residents with dementia. These include:

Off-campus trips to a variety of locations, including many of the scenic outdoor attractions in Montana. “A lot of work, but worth it!”
A “whack-a-mole” game where residents use water pistols to shoot down plastic cups decorated as moles. A game such as this allows residents to release anger in a healthy, socially acceptable manner. (It was suggested that since I’m from New York City, we use a “whack-a-rat” version, but I think New Yorkers might enjoy “whack-a-pigeon.” Pigeons, or “flying rats,” as some people refer to them, are much more ubiquitous and annoying but get less media attention.)

For the entire article, visit:

Creative activities for residents with dementia

Using Psychology to Motivate Staff: Free webinar 10/2

Dr. El - September 29, 2014 - Aunt Sylvia, Business Strategies, Motivating staff, Talks/Radio shows

Join Dr. El

Thursday, October 2nd

at 2pm Eastern Time (1pm Central Time)

for a

FREE Webinar on

Using Psychology to Motivate Staff

To register:

visit EmLogis Events

Aunt Sylvia Motivates the Staff: Click here or view below: http://youtu.be/byhU_OgiIaY

About the Webinar:

Create a sense of hope and momentum throughout your organization by engaging in simple practices that create tremendous change. Join psychologist Dr. Eleanor Feldman Barbera as she discusses practical techniques based on psychological principles that promise big impact in motivating your staff. Register now for this free webinar on October 2nd, 2014 at 1PM – space is limited!

What you will learn:

• How to turn energy-zapping organizational habits into systems that revitalize and invigorate your teams
• Practical, easy-to-implement ideas your staff will notice immediately
• Ways to build small changes into large and lasting impact

Who should attend this webinar:

• Administrators and assistant administrators
• DONs, ADONs, department heads, nursing supervisors, and charge nurses
• Staff training coordinators
• Human resource department staff

Honoring Outstanding Residents and Others

Dr. El - September 26, 2014 - Books/media of note, Inspiration, Something Good About Nursing Homes

Signature HealthCARE alerted me (via Tweet!) about their Quality of Life program where they recognize outstanding residents and others in their community. On October 9th at 6pm ET, Signature HealthCARE will simultaneously induct over 350 distinguished individuals in 87 care centers into their Hall of Fame.

The Signature Hall of Fame website contains a gallery of photos and stories of the accomplishments of inductees in various areas of life such as leadership, public service, and volunteerism. I particularly like the section on personal accomplishments. See the video below (or click here) to find out more about the program.

As a psychologist I’ve heard many very private stories of residents who have lived for years with persistent pain, came through a childhood of prejudice, abuse, and/or poverty, and work hard to keep a positive attitude despite disability. As I’ve told some of “my” residents, I don’t find celebrity interviews nearly as interesting or impressive as hearing their stories.

If your facility has found a unique way to honor residents and staff, please share it in the Comments section.

Preventing difficult family situations (McKnight’s LTC News)

Dr. El - September 16, 2014 - Business Strategies, Communication, Customer service, Engaging with families, McKnight's Long-Term Care News

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:

Preventing difficult family situations

I listened with great interest last week to McKnight’s Fall Expo talk on Pain relief: Dealing with difficult family and resident situations. Attorney Matthew J. Murer provided excellent information on how to work with families to prevent conflicts over treatment and other care issues.

Here, from a psychological perspective, are some additional ideas to prevent or reduce disagreements over care, thereby decreasing the likelihood that the situation will result in legal action.

1. Create systems that easily allow family members to be part of the treatment team.

We collect initial data from families upon admission, but there’s often more family members can and want to add to care.

Staff members may have difficulty adequately involving families because it’s not a fluid part of their workflow. Family members tend to visit in the evenings and weekends when the administrative and day shift workers are no longer in the facility, for example, and care plan meetings are held during working hours when many family members aren’t available.

Inviting relatives to meetings via secure video chat, establishing weekend or evening hours for key personnel such as social workers, and implementing a comprehensive communication system that transmits family information between shifts and departments can help.

In addition, staff members should be trained so that they’re genuinely receptive to information provided by loved ones rather than creating the impression that the family is a nuisance. (I’ve seen this!)

2. Educate families about the illnesses of their loved ones.

Many residents are given diagnoses just prior to or upon admission, but receive little information about their conditions. Similarly, family members often struggle to come to terms with new diagnoses and have many time-consuming questions to ask of staff.

They also may look for health information from less-than-reputable resources. Set up a magazine rack in the lobby with information and resources about common illnesses such as diabetes or stroke and/or add a page to your website with helpful links for families. This meets a genuine need, generates more knowledgeable conversations between families and staff, and helps to create more realistic expectations on the part of families regarding treatment and prognosis.

For the entire article, visit:

Preventing difficult family situations

Assisted Living Documentary by Resident Dick Weinman

Dr. El - September 11, 2014 - Books/media of note, Customer service, Inspiration, Resident care

As a psychologist, I have the privilege of hearing the perspective of residents on a regular basis. For those of you who aren’t so lucky, here’s an insightful video by a resident of an assisted living facility. Dick Weinman, retired professor of broadcast communications at Oregon State University, author and former radio personality, provides a moving account of his experiences as a resident.

View below or click on this link: http://youtu.be/UciTFCPCivI

Dick Weinman

Reducing antipsych meds: 5 ways psychologists can help (McKnight’s LTC News)

Dr. El - September 4, 2014 - Common Nursing Home Problems and How Psychologists Can Solve Them, Dementia, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, Medication issues, Role of psychologists

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News:

Reducing antipsych meds: 5 ways psychologists can help

With the mandate to reduce the use of antipsychotics, many facilities are looking for alternative methods to address the behaviors often associated with dementia. There are several good resources available for training staff (such as the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hand in Hand toolkit and the Pioneer Network’s programs).

Within each facility is another good resource — your consulting psychologist. Here’s how psychologists can help:

1. Psychology is all about nonpharmocological alternatives. The most frequent question for any psychologist during their career is, “What’s the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?”

The answer: “Psychiatrists go to med school and prescribe medications to help people feel better. Psychologists go to graduate school to study interpersonal interactions and talk with people to help them feel better.”

The cornerstone of what psychologists do is to look at behavior and find ways to treat people without medication. While psychologists might not be able to use the exact same techniques for those with memory loss, they can offer behavioral insights that aid the team.

2. Psychologists are trained to understand group dynamics. They can support ways in which your treatment teams are working well to help those with dementia and offer alternatives in areas where conflicts arise. For example, if psychologists have observed that mealtimes are stressful for staff and residents, they can offer suggestions that reduce triggers for behaviors on the part of persons with memory loss.

3. As part of their studies, psychologists collect and synthesize data. Combined with their group/team experience, this makes psychologists ideal sleuths to gather information from various team members about particular residents and identify the cause(s) of agitation.

The fact that they don’t necessarily leave at change of shift allows them the opportunity to discuss the cross-shift behaviors of the residents.

For the entire article, visit:

Reducing antipsych meds: 5 ways psychologists can help