Nursing homes across the country are embracing the power of the documentary to capture and share stories from behind their doors, while also debunking common misconceptions that have long plagued the industry.

“People Worth Caring About” focuses on the often overlooked long-term care workforce, said Erin Hart, strategy director of the Ohio Health Care Association. It gives viewers an in-depth look into the lives of caregivers and the unwavering compassion they tout daily.

It follows a similar project, the first in the nation, filmed in Nebraska last year.

“Much of the public narrative tends to focus on negative headlines. As advocates, we know the majority of caregivers are incredibly dedicated to the people they serve, and we saw this as an opportunity to tell those stories,” Hart told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. 

The opportunity for OHCA to work alongside director Peter Murphy Lewis couldn’t have come at a better time, she said.

Each year, OHCA holds a recognition program, the OHCA Excellence Awards. Leaders had just finalized the winners when the concept of the series arose. The association had more than 100 incredible caregivers’ stories to choose from before carefully narrowing it down to seven facilities whose workers, OHCA felt, were most aligned with the series’ overall vision.  

The series is a collaboration with the Educational Foundation of OHCA, with support from Molina Healthcare and Sedgwick. It premieres May 7 at the Southern Theatre in Columbus,OH, and streaming of the docuseries will be available in the near future. 

Positivity and love on tap

Complete Care Management, which has facilities in seven states and is the largest long-term care provider in New Jersey, is also in the process of releasing its own documentary called “Listen to Us: Unfiltered Stories from New Jersey’s Nursing Homes.”

The Health Care Association of New Jersey approached Complete Care to partner on the project. Christina Fleming, Complete Care senior vice president of communications and branding, along with her marketing and clinical teams, identified important storylines, found patients willing to talk about their experiences and hired Perlow Productions to do the shooting at five facilities.

The 20-minute film features several patients and families recounting their experiences and relationships formed with staff. 

It is also an attempt to “flip the script” on the idea that nursing homes aren’t a good place to be, Fleming noted, a stigma perpetuated by the crises patients often find themselves in when it’s time to move to one.

“There is so much positivity, love, compassion and life happening inside of these buildings. You can’t help but feel empowered when you watch it,” Fleming told McKnight’s on Thursday. “When you identify that someone’s going to need this level of care, we have that responsibility to help people see what can be so positive for them, to ease their emotions and their mind and help them make the right decision and feel confident in their decision.”

A trailer for the documentary debuted at the recent HCANJ conference, complete with a pop-up movie theater where attendees could view it. A formal, red carpet premier will take place on the big screen on April 23.

Exposing fulfilling careers

For every story featured in a docuseries, there are countless others across the world that are just as powerful, Hart said. 

“I hope viewers come away with a new understanding of just how rewarding and fulfilling a career in long-term care can be,” Hart said. “For those who are searching for more than just a job — something that gives you a true sense of purpose — this field offers exactly that. It’s a chance to go home each day knowing you made a meaningful difference in someone’s life.”

Director Murphy Lewis, a trained certified nursing assistant and television host, worked with the Nebraska Health Care Association last year on a similar production, which was shared across through a long-term care communicators group and spurred other projects.

NHCA rolled out its red carpet in October, premiering seven 15-minute-long episodes that followed individuals working in nursing homes and assisted living and hospice communities. 

The group’s president, Jalene Carpenter, told McKnight’s in October that the series captures the story of almost every long-term care worker she has ever known. 

“At New Cassel Retirement Center, in particular, one of their team members that is highlighted, you learn her story and you can just understand and feel why she does what she does,” Carpenter said. “That’s every episode: You’re learning about a caregiver and you’re thinking, ’I know that person.’ It’s been captured in a way that it actually is translating on the screen, hopefully in a meaningful way that causes other people to think, ‘I want to feel those things at work. I want to come work in this industry.’”

The Nebraska team was incredibly generous in sharing their experiences, Hart said, offering OHCA valuable insights throughout the process into both the operational side of production and how they approached their premiere event. 

“Their guidance was instrumental in helping us shape our vision. Like them, we approached this as a community effort — because when it comes to addressing the long-term care workforce challenge, we’re all in this together,” Hart said.