Publications

The Dover Park Hospice in Singapore asked me to visit their hospice to observe how they had adapted Namaste Care, a program I had developed for people with advanced dementia. Originally it was a small group program for nursing homes, but now it has expanded and can be found in care homes and hospice organizations all over the world. On the first day of my visit, I was asked to observe a Namaste Care session. Five social workers were giving five patients hand massages. The room was perfect — very lovely and homelike — and calming music was playing.

It is a cardinal fact that if one wishes to perpetuate any given behavior, then that behavior needs to be rewarded. A simple “thank you” or “you made a difference in the care of me or my loved one” from a family or resident is always welcome for those of us in the post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) continuum. Even better, a mention by a meaningful person in the facility (a colleague, the director of nurses, the administrator, or others) that you made a great diagnosis, started a meaningful program, or touched the life of a resident in a positive way makes the week better and brings a...

Phase 3 of the revised Medicare and Medicaid Requirements of Participation for long-term care, which will go into effect next month, require skilled nursing homes to provide “trauma-informed care (TIC),” an approach to care that factors in the pervasive nature of trauma and establishes safe and nurturing environments where residents won’t be retraumatized. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services haven’t yet provided guidance on this directive, so trying to comply may feel like completing a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces.

Practitioners are already beyond busy addressing all the clinical and regulatory demands on them. So why should they take the time to hone their leadership and management skills? Michael Wasserman, MD, CMD, president of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine (CALTCM), suggested during a recent On-The-Go podcast for AMDA — The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine that practitioners increasingly are expected to take leadership roles, so these skills are essential. “We are delivering clinical care to the most complex population in history, and more care is being...