I’ve been a physical therapist for a very long time, and as I prepare to renew my license for the four millionth time, I reflect on how my profession has changed. All of our professions have changed...
Working through dementia with design
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Nov 14, 2023
My husband and I visit New York City once or twice a year. Love the shows, love the atmosphere, love the restaurants, can’t wait to get home to my relatively bucolic environment. The last time...
AI: Living in the future
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Oct 17, 2023
Artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is a rapidly growing field that has the potential to revolutionize the way medical professionals diagnose and treat patients. The use of AI algorithms and machine...
Whose life is it anyway?
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Sep 21, 2023
My family is full of therapists, and most of us work in skilled nursing. My sister, an experienced speech language pathologist, called to commiserate about one of her patients who had difficulty swallowing. ...
Fingers crossed: Medicare Advantage may be turning around
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Aug 22, 2023
As a long-term care provider, what’s your favorite thing about Medicare Advantage? No three-day hospital stay. And not much else. As a beneficiary of Medicare Advantage (MA), there are plenty...
Are we done with COVID? Is COVID done with us?
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Jul 25, 2023
At last. I haven’t worn a mask in public in months, I’m starting to see friends again, I’m eating in restaurants again, and my new normal is the old normal. Life is good. There’s some hesitation...
Don’t let the sun go down on me
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Jun 27, 2023
Our residents living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias may find it difficult to control their behaviors at day’s end, which we know colloquially as “sundowning” because of the prevalence of the...
Back to business as unusual
By
Jean Wendland Porter
May 30, 2023
On May 11, 2023, the Public Health Emergency ended in the United States. Obviously, the whole world is celebrating the diminished COVID-19 numbers and the drop in COVID-related deaths. But we’ve been...
Nursing shortages, and why ‘nobody wants to work anymore’
By
Jean Wendland Porter
May 02, 2023
Everyone has been feeling the nursing shortage, and now the Biden administration has tightened staffing rules, and that order will become a harbinger of more skilled nursing facility crises and closings....
Staff retention today, staff retention tomorrow
By
Jean Wendland Porter
Apr 04, 2023
A recent Washington Post article caught me where I live. It wasn’t about the impact of inflation, the current geopolitical climate in Europe, or the role of microplastics in our food. This article...