Mary Ersek Pens Op-Ed Piece on 'Transforming Nursing Home Care' in The New York Times
In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, Mary Ersek wrote about 'Transforming Nursing Home Care" and the state of nursing homes currently along with efforts to improve services to older adults in these settings. With the growing demand for nursing homes, it is crucial that nursing homes are making the effort to transform institutional long-term care. Underlying such efforts are the principles of palliative care: maximizing comfort and pleasure rather than cure or rehabilitation and providing care that is consistent with residents’ and families’ preferences.
In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, Mary Ersek wrote about 'Transforming Nursing Home Care' and the state of nursing homes currently along with efforts to improve services to older adults in these settings.
With the growing demand for nursing homes, it is crucial that nursing homes are making the effort to transform institutional long-term care. Underlying such efforts are the principles of palliative care: maximizing comfort and pleasure rather than cure or rehabilitation and providing care that is consistent with residents’ and families’ preferences.
"I am part of an interdisciplinary team at Indiana University that is currently testing a comprehensive program in 19 Indiana long-term care facilities to improve care and reduce hospitalizations. It is one of seven demonstration projects funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations," Ersek said. "All these training programs and demonstration projects have the potential to radically change nursing home care, but a major challenge will be broad dissemination and implementation of successful approaches to facilities that are not on the cutting edge of improvement."
Mary Ersek is a nurse and a professor of palliative care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She has also been involved in the Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania for many years and was a major contributor to the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) network.
For the full op-ed piece, head over to The New York Times page.