Enhancing Resident Well-Being: A Nursing Leadership Approach to Sensory Impairments

Sensory impairments, such as loss of vision, hearing, taste, smell, or touch, are common among older adults, and significantly affect their quality of life. These impairments often go unnoticed or may be mistaken for cognitive decline, leading to missed opportunities for interventions, or worse, a decline in function. Residents with …

Home Health – Mentoring, Coaching, and Counseling, Oh My! How They All Fit Into The Disciplinary Process

The nurse leader plays an integral role in the disciplinary process in a home health agency. Managing employee performance can be challenging, but it is necessary. Failure to address employees’ negative behaviors and actions can destroy morale among the staff. Knowing when and how to discipline is key. However, the …

Home Health – Understanding Why Employees Leave and Strategies to Reduce Turnover

The staffing crisis is an ongoing dilemma for home care. To combat its effects, nurse leaders in home health agencies may be asked to find creative solutions. These professionals often focus on the lack of potential candidates and the difficulties related to hiring. But staff turnover is a large part …

The Keys to Develop a Past Noncompliance Plan

The director of nursing services (DNS) received a call in the middle of the night that a resident with a diagnosis of dementia had eloped, and it appeared she had been missing for several hours—a conversation no DNS wants to have. She immediately enacted the missing resident protocol. Luckily, staff …

Substance Use Disorders: What the DNS Should Know

Over 1 million people aged 65 and over live with substance use disorders (SUD) (Alliance for Aging Research, 2022). As with most trends, what is prevalent in the community will also be prevalent in nursing homes. Therefore, the director of nursing services (DNS) should understand the nuances of this disorder …

Taking the Mystery out of the Facility Assessment

Everyone loves a good mystery. Many like to watch their favorite mysteries on television or read a good thriller. However, mystery and suspense should not be a part of the facility assessment review. The final staffing rule released in April 2024 requires all facilities accepting Medicare and Medicaid payments to …