Here’s a quick tip to get your facility’s name out to people who may have a need for you at some point.  First, develop a mailer that lists the services you provide and any FREE educational programs or assistance your facility provides or has scheduled.  For example, some facilities may: Host workshops on long term care insurance or financing Provide monthly education on Alzheimers Disease or related illnesses Provide...

Today, we’ll talk about hypersexuality of the nursing home resident when there is no 2 –party consent for sexual advances, and what to do to manage this behavior. In the nursing home industry, you’ll run across it sooner or later.  A little male resident who goes from female resident to female resident attempting to touch, kiss, and grope them inappropriately.  He disrobes in public… or worse.  He tries to go into their...

Every facility at one point or another will have to come to terms with the expression of sexuality by their residents.  This creates a ton of confusion with the staff, administration, corporate, families, ombudsman, and surveyors. To tell you the truth, it can be very confusing if you’ve never had to deal with it before or had no one to teach you.  That was the case for me, as well.  So, after having dealt with a few of these...

If you have recently accepted a new facility, one of the first things you need to do is review their discharge policy and the discharge letter/notification they are using - if they are using one at all. Many facilities do not have a standard template for an involuntary discharge letter.  When they do send a letter, it is usually generated by the Business Office Manager or Social Services Director who usually hasn’t had access to and...

Do you Snoezel? If not, you might need to start! The word “Snoezelen” comes from 2 Dutch words, “snuffelen” (to seek out or explore, or to sniff) and “doezelen” (to relax, doze, or snooze).  The Snoezelen experience offers sensory stimulation and relaxation through lights, sounds, smells, and textures, and it appears that it can be a beneficial tool in the treatment of individuals with mental health...

Do you have residents yelling their heads off? Wandering excessively into the wrong rooms? Elopements? Resisting care? Exhibiting sexually inappropriate behaviors?  Or, maybe even a new resident-to-resident altercation each day?  Then, I hate to break it to you, but maybe your behavior management program needs a little overhaul .  Here are a few questions to ask yourself to  help evaluate your program. (1) Who’s tracking your...