Jennifer Burks

Curriculum Designer, Relias

Jennifer W. Burks has over 25 years of clinical and teaching experience, and her areas of expertise are critical care and home health. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Virginia in 1993 and her Master of Science in Nursing from The University of North Carolina, Greensboro, in 1996. Her professional practice in education is guided by a philosophy borrowed from Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing, “I do not pretend to teach her how, I ask her to teach herself, and for this purpose, I venture to give her some hints.”

Posts by Jennifer Burks

Optimizing Home Health Outcomes With Better Care Transitions

Moving patients from one setting to another carries potential for serious complications. Better care transitions can help reduce readmissions and optimize health outcomes.

female caregiver helping man up from couch

Respiratory Disease Training: Information for Caregivers

Make sure your caregivers have respiratory disease training so they can support interventions that reduce the risk for complications.

Nurse administering medication

Does Your Team Need to Brush Up on Medication Administration Basics?

Make sure your team is trained to follow medication administration procedures every time to provide consistent, high-quality care.

Caregiver focusing on older patient

Mindfulness and Empathy Can Aid Understanding With Noncommunicative Patients

When caregivers practice mindfulness and empathy, their focus can enhance care, especially with individuals who are unable to communicate.

Best Practices for Activities Professionals

With effective planning, meaningful activities can help older individuals, both at home and in long term care, thrive to their highest ability level for as long as possible.

Workplace harassment

No Tolerance for Workplace Harassment in Home Care

Learn how to make sure everyone on your team understands how to recognize harassment in all its forms, how to report it, and what to do to help prevent it.

Challenging behavior in Dementia

Assisting With IADLS for Direct Care Workers: Getting Started

As we celebrate National Nursing Assistants Week we consider the important role direct care workers can play in helping elderly clients maintain their independence.

Assisted Living Supporting Dementia

Assisted Living Residents With Dementia Respond Best to Person-Centered Care

To give good care to assisted living residents with dementia, you must use care that focuses on the specific needs of residents and their abilities — person-centered care.

Post-Acute Care Staff Training Helps Protect Your Assets

A healthcare organization’s biggest asset is its employees. Recognizing the value of staff and fostering a work environment that attracts employees and keeps them coming back is key to achieving sustainable growth and success.

caregiver taking older woman's blood pressure

Get Up to Speed on PDGM and OASIS

The Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), took effect January 1. To help, we have outlined the basic considerations for reimbursement.

caregiver with older woman

Refuel Your Caregivers With These Engaging, Re-Energizing Strategies

Effective leaders will find ways to refuel their caregivers by showing them they care. Consider these five strategies for fueling caregiver engagement.

senior man fallen in living room

Assess for Risks to Avoid Falls in the Home

Your organization should have clear guidance on assessing for falls risks, a falls prevention strategy, and proper training.

caretaker helping senior with walker

Restorative Nursing Looks at Possibilities to Improve Residents’ Prospects

Understanding the importance of restorative nursing and adherence to the care program is crucial for skilled nursing facility (SNF) staff.

older man sitting at a table reading

Your Healthy Outlook Can Promote Resilience and Recovery in Older Adults

Because the health, behavioral, and social parts of life overlap more as one ages, those caring for or serving older adults can make a difference by providing support that considers the whole person.

group of senior gathering to exercise

Dual Payoff of Physical Activity and Exercise: Manage Diabetes and Reduce Heart Disease Risk

When you are advising people, always stress the importance of individually appropriate exercise programs in achieving and maintaining optimal health.

elderly woman climbing stairs

Identifying Risks and Prevention Strategies for Osteoporosis in Older Adults

While working with older patients, you must be able to identify risk factors for osteoporosis, the signs and symptoms of fracture, treatment options for osteoporosis and fall prevention strategies.

caregiver talking with senior

Mental Health in Older Adults – Your Organization’s Role

The healthcare industry is shifting toward whole-person, integrated care, and the post-acute care industry is no exception to this shift., ….

caregiver arriving at home

Recognizing Home Health Hazards: Are Your Caregivers Prepared?

At the core of home care services is protecting your clients’ safety. From a fiscal standpoint, you depend on client referrals and satisfaction to keep your agency operating. Prioritize client safety and everyone wins, but to do so your caregivers must be able to recognize all the hazards in a visit.

home caregiver dressing a senior

All About Unlicensed Caregivers in the Home

Unlicensed caregivers have a special role to fulfill in home care. They are critically important in helping clients live as independently as possible in their own homes!

chef cutting fruits and vegetables

Doing Your Part to Prevent Foodborne Illness

Protect your patients and clients this holiday season. Be knowledgeable about foodborne illnesses, their causes, and steps you can take to prevent them.

Caring for Older Adults

The way that our society views aging is quite remarkable. Most people long to maintain life but somehow try to, ….

Understanding Hospice

The philosophy of hospice is to recognize that quality of life, peace, and comfort at the end of life should be the focus of healthcare when curing a patient’s disease is no longer possible.

Infection Control and Prevention in Long Term Care

Infection control is a serious public issue, and it is vital for healthcare workers and others working with the public, ….

First Steps in Emergency Management for Home-Based Care

Does your home care organization know the steps to take in the event of an emergency to ensure continued care and maintain the safety?

Pressure Injury/Pressure Ulcer: Learn the TNT Acronym

Pressure injuries in the U.S. are common and costly, affecting an estimated three million people per year and generating expenses of close to $11 billion.

Developing an Interdisciplinary, Individualized Plan of Care in Home Health Care

Assessment is the first step of the care planning process and begins with collecting, validating, categorizing, summarizing, and interpreting PHI.

Caregiver Rules for Assisting with the Self-Administration of Medications

Before you can assist with the self-administration of medications, there are specific abilities that you must be able to perform.

Managing Symptoms in Palliative Care

Meet Marvin. Marvin is a 68-year-old retired welder who lives with his wife in their home by the ocean. He, ….

Throwing It All Away: The Hidden Hazards of Medical Waste Disposal

One of the many challenges of working in a home-based environment is determining how to properly identify and manage medical waste. Learn more about proper disposal.

Managing Medical Waste Disposal in the Home

One of the challenges of working in a home-based environment often is determining how to properly manage waste, especially medical waste.

Home Health Conditions of Participation Summary of Changes for 2017

“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule (CMS-3819-F) that modernizes the Home Health Agency Conditions, ….

A Heart for Employee Retention

As you probably know, February is American Heart Month. Yes, it is meant to draw attention to heart (read ‘cardiac’), ….

How to Manage Seizures

A seizure is a transitory disturbance in consciousness or in motor, sensory, or autonomic function that is due to the, ….

A Team Approach for Preventing Falls For Older Adults

Falls among older adults lead to injuries, lowered quality of life, decreased physical and emotional freedom, and even death.

Nurse performing pediatric nursing assessment

Pediatric Nursing Assessments in the Community and Home Health: Pearls of Wisdom

Pediatric assessment tools are a way to ensure content is covered thoroughly when doing a pediatric assessment.

Polypharmacy. A Serious Problem

It can be safely assumed that as long as there is polyillness, there will be polypharmacy. Four out of every, ….

QAPI in Home Care?

The most important benefits of QAPI are improved patient care and outcomes. Improved patient care not only benefits patients, but it also benefits agencies.