Education

An estimated 45%-80% of post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) residents suffer from some kind of pain. But for a variety of reasons, it is often underdiagnosed and/or undertreated. Striking a balance between effectively alleviating pain and minimizing the risk of opioidrelated complications should be the goal of every community and care team.

Elopement is a risk among long-term care facility residents with dementia. In fact, nearly half of individuals with dementia are likely to wander at some point, and about 10% repeatedly.

Just because someone is an excellent nurse doesn’t mean they will be a great leader. While nurses learn much in nursing school, they seldom – if ever – learn how to be good managers. As Gwen Wilburn, MBA, RN-BC, senior vice president of clinical operations at The Aspenwood Company in Houston, TX, and AALNA board member and president of the TX chapter, said, “Someone may be a great floor nurse and very task oriented. But a manager has to be more forward thinking and see the bigger picture.”

There’s no question that senior living communities are seeing higher levels of acuity. But there is no clear answer about how to handle acuity creep. Gwen Wilburn, MBA, RN-BC, senior vice president
of clinical operations at the Aspenwood Company and board member and president of AALNA’s Texas Chapter, discussed some multiple sides of acuity creep and how to manage this challenge successfully.