I originally got started in longterm care through the Dietary Department.  I had previous restaurant experience, so that was a plus on my resume when I applied for a position at a local V.A. nursing home. I was hired as the Foodservice Supervisor and within a short period of time became the Dietary Manager.  One of the first problems I faced was the poor staff morale, poor quality of food produced, and multiple dietary complaints on...

Are your residents complaining that there is nothing to do?  Is your employee morale at an all-time low?  Do you feel the need to grab a couple pairs of boxing gloves and let your CNAs and LPNs just go at it?  Do you have family members with nothing better to do than to count how many times your CNA checked the other resident across the hall and then tell that family the result? If not addressed, rest assured, this will not go away. ...

No matter how good of a job you do personally, you’re only as good as your worst empolyee.  So, if your CNA is in a hurry and doesn’t respond to a resident’s questions in a respectful manner, or if a call light stays on for 20 minutes and your charge nurse is at the nurses station while the CNAs are busy in other rooms, or even if a dietary staff member doesn’t take the time to see if they have some tomato soup for...