The Minneapolis Star Tribune  did a several-day series this week on nursing home falls and deaths.  A few observations from this end.  Am curious to yours:

• The Pain of Loss: The stories clearly convey the deep pain felt when losing a loved one, the frailty that accompanies old age, the intense trust that people put in us as long-term services, the limits of regulation, and the fallibility of human beings.
• Building Trust: Human beings want to deeply trust and feel good about those they turn to for home services, rehab care, Alzheimer’s care and the many other services we provide. Earning, holding and expanding that human bond rides on our daily performance and continually building upon “who we are” as a company so that increasingly people turn to us because they “want” to, not simply because they “need” to.
• Potential Innovations: One intriguing area that deserved more space and discussion devoted to it are potential innovations for fall prevention. The series’ last day mentioned a couple of technologies, including a bladder scanner that Ecumen uses to help prevent falls that occur caused by walking to the bathroom. Are there other technologies out there? Is there something we don’t know about? That would have been interesting to learn.
• Understanding Aging in Radically Different Ways: In 1990 the Star Tribune did a 4-day story on nursing home deaths and the use of restraints. Now almost two decades later we have a 3-day series on falls. The last day of the story was entitled “NO EASY SOLUTIONS.” How true. That makes our vision all the more significant to moving society forward: We envision a world in which aging is viewed and understood in radically different ways. We are integral to solutions.

• Inside Baseball: Finally, some “inside baseball.” The photo on the first day of the series was of an empty wheel chair in a dark, ominous hallway. It was framed by an all-caps headline “DEADLY FALLS.” That photo wasn’t of a Minnesota nursing home. It’s an online photo from Poland. The Star Tribune purchased and placed that photo on the first day to “set a mood” and draw reader attention. Every other photo they ran in the series – including those on the front page – had an extensive caption and featured real people. This one did not.  The ominous "stage setting" wasn’t necessary.   We communicated that to the Star Tribune’s publisher, but have not yet heard back. Today the online newspaper MinnPost wrote about it. The link is here.

Have a good weekend.