Mental Health Month and National Nurses Month are coinciding this May, and at a very appropriate time. Nurses and other healthcare workers are making enormous sacrifices during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their mental health. Encounter Telepsychiatry, a division of Encounter Telehealth LLC, partners with senior care facilities across the country. We have seen, firsthand, the...
McKnight’s Long Term Care News published a guest article written by Encounter Telehealth’s Randy Beckett- Vice President of Geriatric Psychiatric Services, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC. In the article, Randy discusses the effects of loneliness on aging health, and how therapy and telehealth can help. Loneliness was recently dubbed “the silent killer”, and recent reports suggest...
Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels Nearly 44 million American seniors currently suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment and care for Alzheimer’s can end up costing an annual average of $56,800. And while Medicare or private insurance may cover some costs, 60 percent of that expense falls to the family. Different Alzheimer’s patients need different...
We found Dr. Robert Figlerski’s list of challenges and strategies in treating psychiatric patients in a long-term care setting, originally published in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, enlightening. Challenges: Demographic shifts—when staff training doesn’t keep up with patient needs. Confusion over how to properly use psychotropic medications (such as antipsychotics.) Confusion and misinformation about non-drug...
