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Your elders in a nursing home
#1

Your elders in a nursing home
Please, research it thoroughly, where you will place them.

I love working where I do, because I know how to do my job. Unfortunately, the others on the overnight shift do not do their jobs properly.

Here's a simple rundown: the 3-11 shift most likely does their last round between 9-11. Technically, the aides are supposed to do rounds ever two hours. Now, from the 11-7, overnight, shift, we are allowed a bit more leniency between rounds due to the residents sleeping. I do a round when I get there at 11, I do my next round at about 1:30, and then I do my last round at about 5. Everyone else on my shift in the facility never checks in on them until they do their single round at 5. That to me is just wrong, leaving them sitting in piss and possibly feces for hours.

It should be my duty to report it, but I have heard horror stories from CNA support groups on FB where aides have been fired for reporting abuse. I am doing what I can to help my residents while I am on duty, and honestly I simply do not want to report anyone. I thought maybe if they saw me doing my job it would inspire them to do it as well, but it just doesn't. Also, I am not certain I will make as much money anywhere else if I leave this place. Besides, if I leave, the residents will lose the one person who cares for them properly on that shift. I am so conflicted as to what to do. I cannot afford to make a life altering decision right now because our apartment complex just raised our rent and we are planning on moving in a couple of months. That cannot happen if I disrupt everything. I think I should just continue doing my job properly for the time being.
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#2

Your elders in a nursing home
I have more than a small amount of experience with this subject, having done tech support and computer systems at a nursing home for 15 years.
I appreciate your compassion for your job and your residents. More than I could possibly express.
It's really difficult to look in on somebody during the night and not disturb them, but still give them the care they need. Some people don't have the skills or patience to do so.
I got started in the business because my brother was a Mobile X-Ray tech and then a business owner. He had the knack for getting in there and getting an x-ray without disturbing too much. He could sweet-talk the little ladies, and somehow negotiate with the people with severe Dementia or the mentally ill at one facility, and somehow get an x-ray that was going to be otherwise impossible. I was his chief technical officer, and still do that service for the guys that bought his business. That got my introduction to the nursing home owner where I do my side job.
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#3

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-16-2020, 02:42 PM)Phaedrus Wrote: Please, research it thoroughly, where you will place them.

I love working where I do, because I know how to do my job. Unfortunately, the others on the overnight shift do not do their jobs properly.

Here's a simple rundown: the 3-11 shift most likely does their last round between 9-11. Technically, the aides are supposed to do rounds ever two hours. Now, from the 11-7, overnight, shift, we are allowed a bit more leniency between rounds due to the residents sleeping. I do a round when I get there at 11, I do my next round at about 1:30, and then I do my last round at about 5. Everyone else on my shift in the facility never checks in on them until they do their single round at 5. That to me is just wrong, leaving them sitting in piss and possibly feces for hours.

It should be my duty to report it, but I have heard horror stories from CNA support groups on FB where aides have been fired for reporting abuse. I am doing what I can to help my residents while I am on duty, and honestly I simply do not want to report anyone. I thought maybe if they saw me doing my job it would inspire them to do it as well, but it just doesn't. Also, I am not certain I will make as much money anywhere else if I leave this place. Besides, if I leave, the residents will lose the one person who cares for them properly on that shift. I am so conflicted as to what to do. I cannot afford to make a life altering decision right now because our apartment complex just raised our rent and we are planning on moving in a couple of months. That cannot happen if I disrupt everything. I think I should just continue doing my job properly for the time being.

Mine are both dead. Mom died shudderring from Parkinson's. Dad died in assisted living with dementia. He thought he was in a hotel in PA (never did live there. He spent 2 of his last years with me. Falling out of bed, not able to shower, wearing weird clothes that wouldn't fit (I stole and replaced most that fit better. He had a vague idea of food.

I picked him up a lot. Which was hard because he was 5'10" and I was 5' 6". When it got to the point where I was picking him up (or not able to mostly), my sister who was in the business found the best place she knew and we moved him there.

He didn't have the slightest idea where he was. I gave 2 years of complete daily care. Sis visited every day. There are limits to what you can do. He seemed to have gotten good daily care.
Never try to catch a dropped kitchen knife!
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#4

Your elders in a nursing home
I'll go where the VA sends me. Boss Lady will hover.
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#5

Your elders in a nursing home
When we were looking for a place for my MiL, we looked at quite a few. We were fortunate to find a small facility practically around the corned from us. The people at the hospital knew of this place and highly recommended them when we asked. We looked at some bigger places but they were a LOT more money, further away, and the hallways were like a motel. They made me think of storage lockers. We took my MiL to this facility because neither my wife or I can pick her up, and it's tough for both of us to do. From all appearance, they are taking excellent care of her.  Thumbs Up
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#6

Your elders in a nursing home
Just do your job and keep your head down. If there is abuse or neglect it will be found. And I'm not sure how much weight would be given to a CNA whistle blower.

Edit: You could clandestinely leave this (or something similar) at the nurses station or admin office. : https://www.cphins.com/falsification-of-...nvictions/
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental. 
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#7

Your elders in a nursing home
I would say "report it".
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#8

Your elders in a nursing home
Family tradition:
We take them far, far away, and let nature take its course.
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#9

Your elders in a nursing home
I used to volunteer at night on Fridays at a NH, not too far away. There were about 60 + dementia/memory patients. Virtually every one was incontinent. No one was "violent". We knew (and loved) every one. We never did rounds like we were supposed to. Since we knew PM's probably didn't do rounds like they were supposed to, while the main nurse did report, at 11 PM, I went around and checked on everyone, got the I & O sheets ... just to be sure everyone was accounted for, and in their right bed. We had really good night NA's. About 1 AM, we went from one end of the floor to the other, changed most of the beds, laughed and gabbed with the patients, and cleaned up their rooms. It took a while, (a couple hours). We threw all the linen on the floor in the hall and picked it up later ... (for shame). There was not one bed sore on the floor, and the supervisor let us do what we wanted, as she knew we were taking care of them. We then went around and checked on everyone about 4, and 6:30, just before we left. We did a good job, and these (staff) people will be my life-long friends.

One Saturday am we were finishing 4:00 rounds, and we were in a room with 2 totally demented but verbal guys. My friend the supervisor (she worked one night a week there, ... she was a transplant ICU nurse from UCSD most of the time), ... she came in the room, and said "Oh, it smells in here". One of the (older totally confused patient) a guy said "Well, it was fine until you walked in". We all burst out laughing, including the sup,... we laughed so loud the others down the hall came to see what was going on. ... and have been laughing about that for a LONG time. A fun volunteer gig.
Test
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#10

Your elders in a nursing home
I used to volunteer at a half-way house for veterans who had done their hard time and were trying to learn to live without guards. I sat up ever Thursday night in case they needed someone to talk to. (My CO approved and gave me Fridays off.) Sometimes they just needed someone to tell them they weren't a total piece of shit. I wrote up notes in the pass-down log for the day shift if there was something they needed to know. After a ... fascinating ... chat with one guy I made a note "this guy should never, ever, be allowed out alone."
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#11

Your elders in a nursing home
Working in a field filled with abuse and negligence forces some hard choices. If nobody reported it, nothing would change, yet I don't fault anyone for going along to get along, either. It's simply a personal choice that you must make. We all gotta eat, and sometimes that means not living up to what otherwise might be our ideals.
Mountain-high though the difficulties appear, terrible and gloomy though all things seem, they are but Mâyâ.
Fear not — it is banished. Crush it, and it vanishes. Stamp upon it, and it dies.


Vivekananda
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#12

Your elders in a nursing home
My parents both died in their home.  Yes, they were in pretty bad shape and barely able to take care of themselves but goddammit they died in their own bed and I'm glad.
                                                         T4618
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#13

Your elders in a nursing home
Both of my parents died in care

Dad, in 2006, at age 87 after being in care for 5 years. He died demented and miserable. .

Mum died last year, at 92 . She had been in care for almost a year, at her behest. She was lucid until 24 hours before she died, as she was on a morphine pump. Mum's body slowly ran down, and she finally had enough of hospitals and transfusions, so would accept palliative care only.

We did not plan about which facility each would go into . It was a matter of what was available at the time, We did check out the facilities before allowing our parents to live there. Each one was excellent. As simple rule of thumb is to talk with staff, RN, as well as domestic.***

Aged care is a billion dollar industry in Australia, with heavy government subsidy of each resident. That means there are strict government standards and controls. SA Facilities can (and do) lose their accreditation if standards are not met.

Here the better places have a refundable deposit/buy -in, on top of everything else . Mum's was $250,000 .

0))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))(0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

*** this might seem a little casual, but it wasn't. As it turns out my sis has belonged to a charity for about 20 years. It's called "Caring Canines'". Members take their dogs to aged care facilities. My sis is very outgoing and sharp as a tack. She has very good idea of which facilities are the better ones .They are is not necessarily the newest or most expensive . The ones run by various churches are pretty good ,as are Free Masons .

I'm of an age (72) when I need to start looking at facilities. I do this whenever I can, visiting if at all possible. I have an "Advanced Care Directive". It sets out my medical wishes . It has force of law in all hospitals and aged car facilities.

Of course I'm hoping for a stroke in my sleep, in my late 80's. However, reality check; I'm a single man who has lived alone for the last 25 years (my choice), ex smoker (16 years) and recovering alcoholic (17 years) --the odds for longevity are not in my favour .

Right now I'm doing my best to improve the odds; have began a weight control regime and change of lifestyle diet. I've made a committed decision to is to lose about 25% of my body weight . That will have a positive effect on my blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Not sure about cholesterol, but it can't hurt. .

What happened last time ,in about 2015, was the weight fell off my bum and thighs. Looked like a pregnant swizzle stick .
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#14

Your elders in a nursing home
I have been a nurse working mostly Long Term Care for 28 years. I am proud of the team I am with now. We don't take neglect and abuse lightly. We are striving for excellence and are way past tolerance for neglect and abuse. I was once involved for 2 years in a Federal law suit because I fired someone who treated a resident in a very shitty way. The CNA claimed retaliation because she had a law suit over past wages.  I fired her because she was shitty. I have been in Nursing Administration for 7 years now. CNAs should always report substandard care and abuse. They are federally protected and should be. If they report and nothing gets done, call the State or the Ombudsman. Want to see your administrators pissing their pants? Watch them when the State O.I.G. shows up on a complaint survey with details from anonymous staff. If you need any advice PM me or ask on the forum, I would be glad to help.
One thing you never see: A guy in Boston Mass. with a Union flag yelling "The Nawth's gonna rise again!"
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#15

Your elders in a nursing home
I need a place that is cool with the residents doing the occasional explosion.
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#16

Your elders in a nursing home
Bad food and explosive diarrhea? No thanks!  Tongue
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
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#17

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-16-2020, 11:16 PM)Chimp3 Wrote: I have been a nurse working mostly Long Term Care for 28 years. I am proud of the team I am with now. We don't take neglect and abuse lightly. We are striving for excellence and are way past tolerance for neglect and abuse. I was once involved for 2 years in a Federal law suit because I fired someone who treated a resident in a very shitty way. The CNA claimed retaliation because she had a law suit over past wages.  I fired her because she was shitty. I have been in Nursing Administration for 7 years now. CNAs should always report substandard care and abuse. They are federally protected and should be. If they report and nothing gets done, call the State or the Ombudsman. Want to see your administrators pissing their pants? Watch them when the State O.I.G. shows up on a complaint survey with details from anonymous staff. If you need any advice PM me or ask on the forum, I would be glad to help.

As an administrator, could you give me your opinion about  pressure  sores and and aged care residents ?  IE avoidable ? Sometimes unavoidable, and OK if treated properly ?

Context; in the early 70's. I worked for the Federal Department of Health  I went out with one of our doctors to inspect  nursing homes, without notice.  Saw some pretty nasty stuff, and met some callous arseholes.  Things have changed a great deal for the better here since then.  Bloody well needed to.


At mum and dad's facilities, there were no set visiting hours. So the 4 sibs went at different times ,on different days, often during the week, including meal times.
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#18

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-17-2020, 03:23 AM)grympy Wrote:
(01-16-2020, 11:16 PM)Chimp3 Wrote: I have been a nurse working mostly Long Term Care for 28 years. I am proud of the team I am with now. We don't take neglect and abuse lightly. We are striving for excellence and are way past tolerance for neglect and abuse. I was once involved for 2 years in a Federal law suit because I fired someone who treated a resident in a very shitty way. The CNA claimed retaliation because she had a law suit over past wages.  I fired her because she was shitty. I have been in Nursing Administration for 7 years now. CNAs should always report substandard care and abuse. They are federally protected and should be. If they report and nothing gets done, call the State or the Ombudsman. Want to see your administrators pissing their pants? Watch them when the State O.I.G. shows up on a complaint survey with details from anonymous staff. If you need any advice PM me or ask on the forum, I would be glad to help.

As an administrator, could you give me your opinion about  pressure  sores and and aged care residents ?  IE avoidable ? Sometimes unavoidable, and OK if treated properly ?

Context; in the early 70's. I worked for the Federal Department of Health  I went out with one of our doctors to inspect  nursing homes, without notice.  Saw some pretty nasty stuff, and met some callous arseholes.  Things have changed a great deal for the better here since then.  Bloody well needed to.


At mum and dad's facilities, there were no set visiting hours. So the 4 sibs went at different times ,on different days,  often during the week, including meal times.

Sometimes they are unavoidable. In cases where people stop eating or are close to dying. Otherwise, they are generally avoidable and are judged to be so by the regulatory agencies. Pressure ulcers are reported to the government through the MDS assessments and are reflected in the Quality Measure reports available to the public. Look at "Nursing Home Compare" online to see where specific Nursing Homes compare to state and national averages.
One thing you never see: A guy in Boston Mass. with a Union flag yelling "The Nawth's gonna rise again!"
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#19

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-17-2020, 04:08 AM)Chimp3 Wrote:
(01-17-2020, 03:23 AM)grympy Wrote:
(01-16-2020, 11:16 PM)Chimp3 Wrote: I have been a nurse working mostly Long Term Care for 28 years. I am proud of the team I am with now. We don't take neglect and abuse lightly. We are striving for excellence and are way past tolerance for neglect and abuse. I was once involved for 2 years in a Federal law suit because I fired someone who treated a resident in a very shitty way. The CNA claimed retaliation because she had a law suit over past wages.  I fired her because she was shitty. I have been in Nursing Administration for 7 years now. CNAs should always report substandard care and abuse. They are federally protected and should be. If they report and nothing gets done, call the State or the Ombudsman. Want to see your administrators pissing their pants? Watch them when the State O.I.G. shows up on a complaint survey with details from anonymous staff. If you need any advice PM me or ask on the forum, I would be glad to help.

As an administrator, could you give me your opinion about  pressure  sores and and aged care residents ?  IE avoidable ? Sometimes unavoidable, and OK if treated properly ?

Context; in the early 70's. I worked for the Federal Department of Health  I went out with one of our doctors to inspect  nursing homes, without notice.  Saw some pretty nasty stuff, and met some callous arseholes.  Things have changed a great deal for the better here since then.  Bloody well needed to.


At mum and dad's facilities, there were no set visiting hours. So the 4 sibs went at different times ,on different days,  often during the week, including meal times.

Sometimes they are unavoidable. In cases where people stop eating or are close to dying. Otherwise, they are generally avoidable and are judged to be so by the regulatory agencies. Pressure ulcers are reported to the government through the MDS assessments and are reflected in the Quality Measure reports available to the public. Look at "Nursing Home Compare" online to see where specific Nursing Homes compare to state and national averages.
 
Thanks, mum had one on her leg a few months before she died. We were told I think immediately , and told about the treatment she was receiving .  By that stage mum was no longer ambulatory, so I figured it would be hard to avoid. Her body slowly kind of caved in, and she shrank 2 inches (her back was like a question mark )

Her mind was pretty good , probably knew  more about domestic and international politics than I.
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#20

Your elders in a nursing home
Not going, and you can't make me! I am dying right here at home, either with hospice or by my own hand. A care facility would be about my worst nightmare. If I can't take care of myself, I am taking the exit. I want to live, not vegetate.
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#21

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-16-2020, 04:55 PM)brewerb Wrote: Just do your job and keep your head down. If there is abuse or neglect it will be found. And I'm not sure how much weight would be given to a CNA whistle blower.

I wouldn't bet on abuse of neglect being found out. Not from personal experience working as a medic, some 20 years ago, not with nursing home scandals blowing after years they were allowed to ccontinue. And not with overworked and underpaid staff, which is standard in many of these homes.

My personal experience and observations made me decide on keeping out my parents at any cost. To this day I can't get that stench of decay, excrements and festering wounds out of my memory.
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#22

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-17-2020, 04:55 PM)Dom Wrote: Not going, and you can't make me! I am dying right here at home, either with hospice or by my own hand. A care facility would be about my worst nightmare. If I can't take care of myself, I am taking the exit. I want to live, not vegetate.

That's the way I felt about my parents.  My mother died of lung cancer in her own home and in her own bed.  She had hospice care throughout her last days.  They came by twice a week and gave her pain killer shots. I think it was morphine.  My father lived 14 more years and he died in the bed my mother died in.  

He and my mom lived 3 hours from us, out near Bend Oregon  in a double wide mobile home and we'd go see them as much as possible.  My husband and I would go visit for a few days at a time. We'd clean their house and cook for them and take them out to dinner and just make their lives as easy as possible.  The neighbors were fantastic. They'd cook food for them too.  Towards the last year of my father's life we paid his next door neighbor to drive him to the doctor and generally care for him.   At 93 his brain was getting addled.  He'd forget and pay his bills twice or three times a month so my huband and I got power of attorney and took care of his bills for him.  

He died peacefully in his home surrounded by his cluttery, messy stuff, his upright piano and his beloved cat, Tiger. Fuck old folks homes.  I'd rather die in a gutter by the side of the road
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#23

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-16-2020, 07:55 PM)no one Wrote: Family tradition:
We take them far, far away, and let nature take its course.

 Ah, a traditional answer; put your loved ones out of YOUR misery. 

However, my choice of facility will not be based on the convenience to my family. I  have three siblings. One lives in another  state.  Of the other two, my sis would probably visit every week or so, my bro, occasionally.   I think decades of living alone will pay off if/when I'm in care.  Thumbs Up
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#24

Your elders in a nursing home
Because of my handicap, I may face living in a nursing home sooner rather than later. After losing my fingers, I was in a nursing home for 7 months and it was all right, but I needed little support other than help with learning new skills and doing things that are hard without fingers. If I needed more intensive support, it might not have been as unremarkable, but the quality of care was very good overall, so that matters, too. I think the fact that this nursing home was used as overflow for the local hospital may have had something to do with that.
Mountain-high though the difficulties appear, terrible and gloomy though all things seem, they are but Mâyâ.
Fear not — it is banished. Crush it, and it vanishes. Stamp upon it, and it dies.


Vivekananda
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#25

Your elders in a nursing home
(01-17-2020, 04:55 PM)Dom Wrote: Not going, and you can't make me! I am dying right here at home, either with hospice or by my own hand. A care facility would be about my worst nightmare. If I can't take care of myself, I am taking the exit. I want to live, not vegetate.

I have encouraged Boss Lady to garage me when the time comes. Her alternative is to share a house with an ALZ person who has been trained to kill. That horrifies me. Sadcryface
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