I wish for everyone to have a very Happy Holiday this year. If you know someone who is in a nursng home, consider offering them more than slipper socks; offer them a bit of your time. That above all else is what they want. Someone to sincerely sit with them and talk to. You will be surprised what you will learn, in turn allowing them to offer you a special gift or a special moment.
So, Happy Holidays and may God's blessings shower upon you and your's always.
BooRai
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
A Great Blog by Ray Mullman about Temp. Agency Nursing.
Should nurses from temp agencies be used at nursing homes?
Posted on December 21, 2009 by Ray Mullman
Trackbacks The L.A. Times had an article about firms that supply temporary nurses to the nation's hospitals and nursing homes. The article reveals that these firms take perilous shortcuts in their screening and supervision, sometimes putting seriously ill patients in the hands of incompetent or impaired caregivers. Emboldened by an alleged nursing shortage and scant regulation, the firms vie for their share of a free-wheeling, $4-billion industry. Some have become havens for nurses who hopscotch from place to place to avoid the consequences of their misconduct.
An investigation by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found dozens of instances in which staffing agencies skimped on background checks or ignored warnings from hospitals about sub-par nurses on their payrolls. Some hired nurses sight unseen, without even conducting an interview. As a result, fill-in nurses with documented histories of poor care have fallen asleep on the job, failed to perform critical tests or stolen drugs intended to ease patients' pain or anxiety.
Among reporters' findings, based on disciplinary records, personnel files, court documents and interviews:
* Firms hired nurses who had criminal records or left states where their licenses had been restricted or revoked. At least three firms employed a nurse in California whose license had been suspended in Minnesota for stealing drugs at a string of temp jobs. One used him after he'd been convicted of doing the same thing at a Santa Rosa nursing home.
* Temp agencies shuffled errant nurses from one hospital to another, even as complaints mounted. A Culver City agency continued sending one nurse to hospitals despite more than a dozen warnings that she was ignoring her patients and sleeping on the job. Before she was hired, the nurse had been convicted of 12 crimes, including prostitution, carrying a concealed weapon and possessing cocaine.
* Nurses who got into trouble at one agency had no problem landing a job at another. An Oklahoma nurse cycled through at least four Southern California agencies in a year, accused of pilfering drugs while at each. Before her final stop, she was arrested in her home state for calling in prescriptions while posing as a doctor's office employee.
Oversight of nurses in general has been weak. A Times/ProPublica investigation in July found years-long delays in disciplining nurses accused of serious misconduct. California's registered nursing board is among a minority that does not require hospitals, agencies or anyone else to report even serious lapses by nurses, including temps. When staff nurses err, hospitals typically retrain or monitor them afterward. Temp nurses often are just exchanged for replacements, never receiving further guidance.
Many agencies leave it to applicants to reveal previous problems. Using multi-page checklists, they are asked to rate themselves on how well they manage critical care patients, use complex equipment and administer drugs. Some nurses admit lying on applications or withholding information from their employers.
Although the healthcare system as a whole is increasingly regulated, the nurse staffing industry remains a Wild West. No one knows how many agencies exist nationwide; estimates range from 3,000 to 6,000. Dozens of Internet sites tout the easy profits and hawk how-to guides for as low as $69.95.
Last year Los Angeles County health staffers went through the files of 29 agencies seeking to provide nurses to its public hospitals. Most of the firms lacked key documents, including evidence of tuberculosis screenings or proof that nurses had current licenses. One agency had 90 missing or invalid records, another 63. The lapses were "surprising," said Vivian C. Branchick, director of nursing affairs for the county Department of Health Services. "They know -- and they've known it all along" -- what the standard is. All of these firms were allowed to correct their shortcomings and won county business.
In late 2006, the county audited Reliable Health Care Services in Culver City, which had received $8.9 million for temp services during the previous fiscal year. The audit found that Reliable had "forged" results of tuberculosis skin tests, physical exams and CPR training cards, which "jeopardized the safety of county patients." Reliable also made "false and misleading statements," the audit said, citing a general "lack of trustworthiness and integrity."
According to Riverside County Regional Medical Center more than 60% of the 339 temp nurses rejected since 2003 failed to demonstrate basic nursing skills on the job. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, San Bernardino County's public hospital, reported that it had rejected 61 temp nurses since 2005 -- more than half for performance problems.
In another case, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton informed MedStaff Healthcare Solutions in March 2007 that it suspected nurse Donald Paradise of stealing drugs and asked that he never return, a hospital spokesman said. Six months later, Paradise was accused of stealing drugs at a sister hospital, where he also had been sent by MedStaff.
In interviews, several temp nurses who had been in trouble said their employers focused more on keeping slots filled than on who filled them.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Posted on December 21, 2009 by Ray Mullman
Trackbacks The L.A. Times had an article about firms that supply temporary nurses to the nation's hospitals and nursing homes. The article reveals that these firms take perilous shortcuts in their screening and supervision, sometimes putting seriously ill patients in the hands of incompetent or impaired caregivers. Emboldened by an alleged nursing shortage and scant regulation, the firms vie for their share of a free-wheeling, $4-billion industry. Some have become havens for nurses who hopscotch from place to place to avoid the consequences of their misconduct.
An investigation by the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica and the Los Angeles Times found dozens of instances in which staffing agencies skimped on background checks or ignored warnings from hospitals about sub-par nurses on their payrolls. Some hired nurses sight unseen, without even conducting an interview. As a result, fill-in nurses with documented histories of poor care have fallen asleep on the job, failed to perform critical tests or stolen drugs intended to ease patients' pain or anxiety.
Among reporters' findings, based on disciplinary records, personnel files, court documents and interviews:
* Firms hired nurses who had criminal records or left states where their licenses had been restricted or revoked. At least three firms employed a nurse in California whose license had been suspended in Minnesota for stealing drugs at a string of temp jobs. One used him after he'd been convicted of doing the same thing at a Santa Rosa nursing home.
* Temp agencies shuffled errant nurses from one hospital to another, even as complaints mounted. A Culver City agency continued sending one nurse to hospitals despite more than a dozen warnings that she was ignoring her patients and sleeping on the job. Before she was hired, the nurse had been convicted of 12 crimes, including prostitution, carrying a concealed weapon and possessing cocaine.
* Nurses who got into trouble at one agency had no problem landing a job at another. An Oklahoma nurse cycled through at least four Southern California agencies in a year, accused of pilfering drugs while at each. Before her final stop, she was arrested in her home state for calling in prescriptions while posing as a doctor's office employee.
Oversight of nurses in general has been weak. A Times/ProPublica investigation in July found years-long delays in disciplining nurses accused of serious misconduct. California's registered nursing board is among a minority that does not require hospitals, agencies or anyone else to report even serious lapses by nurses, including temps. When staff nurses err, hospitals typically retrain or monitor them afterward. Temp nurses often are just exchanged for replacements, never receiving further guidance.
Many agencies leave it to applicants to reveal previous problems. Using multi-page checklists, they are asked to rate themselves on how well they manage critical care patients, use complex equipment and administer drugs. Some nurses admit lying on applications or withholding information from their employers.
Although the healthcare system as a whole is increasingly regulated, the nurse staffing industry remains a Wild West. No one knows how many agencies exist nationwide; estimates range from 3,000 to 6,000. Dozens of Internet sites tout the easy profits and hawk how-to guides for as low as $69.95.
Last year Los Angeles County health staffers went through the files of 29 agencies seeking to provide nurses to its public hospitals. Most of the firms lacked key documents, including evidence of tuberculosis screenings or proof that nurses had current licenses. One agency had 90 missing or invalid records, another 63. The lapses were "surprising," said Vivian C. Branchick, director of nursing affairs for the county Department of Health Services. "They know -- and they've known it all along" -- what the standard is. All of these firms were allowed to correct their shortcomings and won county business.
In late 2006, the county audited Reliable Health Care Services in Culver City, which had received $8.9 million for temp services during the previous fiscal year. The audit found that Reliable had "forged" results of tuberculosis skin tests, physical exams and CPR training cards, which "jeopardized the safety of county patients." Reliable also made "false and misleading statements," the audit said, citing a general "lack of trustworthiness and integrity."
According to Riverside County Regional Medical Center more than 60% of the 339 temp nurses rejected since 2003 failed to demonstrate basic nursing skills on the job. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, San Bernardino County's public hospital, reported that it had rejected 61 temp nurses since 2005 -- more than half for performance problems.
In another case, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton informed MedStaff Healthcare Solutions in March 2007 that it suspected nurse Donald Paradise of stealing drugs and asked that he never return, a hospital spokesman said. Six months later, Paradise was accused of stealing drugs at a sister hospital, where he also had been sent by MedStaff.
In interviews, several temp nurses who had been in trouble said their employers focused more on keeping slots filled than on who filled them.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Don't Believe The Hype
The nursing home sales pitch is not different than that of the used car lot. It all bells and whistles, but pop open the hood just to be sure.
Believe this....the nursing home wants your insurance dollars. They would first LOVE to recieve that money from 1) you paying directly out of your pocket, 2) you paying via your privately held insurance, and lastly 3)you paying via government-sponsored insurance (Medicare/Medicaid). And in that order, too. The least attractive is the Medicare dollar as it pays less and is scrutinized by the government.
So, in order to get you to gladly pass over those monies to them, they will offer you a song-and-a-dance. The performance usually begins at the hospital with the social worker/nurse handing you over a nice little brochure that depicts an elderly person or two joyfully smiling whilst they are outdoors tending to the garden. Or the same person/people sitting at a dining room table being served a meal as if they are ar a 5-star Manhattan restaurant. Don't believe the hype!! As you open the tri-folded brouchure it begins to inform you of all the wonderful services they offer, "physical therapy, speech therapy, nursing services, outdoor trips, a patio with a view, 100-bed skilled facitliy, blah, blah, blah". Like I said before ...Don't believe the hype.
Every facility is mandated to offer social and recreational events. This is the wonderful bingo that is offered or crafts, exercise, or the infamous "pet therapy". These are simply catch phrases. Most of these services are indeed provided, but half-heartedly so. You must realize that the staff that is "trained" to perform these services usually have zero college degrees or training in those capacities. It would be wise to ask a suiting facility what level of training/education do ALL the department members have, not JUST the nursing department. You will find that the overwhelming majority of these people have ZERO training in their capacity and ZERO training in Geriatrics. This would include the following: Recreation Department, Social Services, Medical Records, Administration, Dietary Services, Laundry Services, Maintenance, and Data Entry. Your nurses and nursing assistance MUST hold and maintain in good standing a license or certification. Besides that the majority are anyone that simply applies. I do not want to cast any ill will towars persons without a college education or extended training in a career field, but you must know that the majority of the people providing services/care to our nursing home population have no training with the elderly.
So, you will be provided with a wonderful sales pitch. Ask questions!! It is a must!! Every nursing home has to have a copy of its last state survey available for viewing; ask to see it. If they hesitate or cannot find it or have some other excuse, then I would GREATLY question placing someone there. Ask how many "tags" were recieved on the last survey, they must devulge this information too you. If they have in excess of 5, then question placement. Each department can recieved these tags, not only nursing. These tags also come with a rated severity and explanation of that deficiency. You can read about problems in nursing, dietary, laundry, social services, and determine it that is the right place for placement or not.
Be wary of the sales pitch. Don't buy because you like the paint job, or the fancy flames....lift that hood and kick those tires. Don't believe the sales pitch hype.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Believe this....the nursing home wants your insurance dollars. They would first LOVE to recieve that money from 1) you paying directly out of your pocket, 2) you paying via your privately held insurance, and lastly 3)you paying via government-sponsored insurance (Medicare/Medicaid). And in that order, too. The least attractive is the Medicare dollar as it pays less and is scrutinized by the government.
So, in order to get you to gladly pass over those monies to them, they will offer you a song-and-a-dance. The performance usually begins at the hospital with the social worker/nurse handing you over a nice little brochure that depicts an elderly person or two joyfully smiling whilst they are outdoors tending to the garden. Or the same person/people sitting at a dining room table being served a meal as if they are ar a 5-star Manhattan restaurant. Don't believe the hype!! As you open the tri-folded brouchure it begins to inform you of all the wonderful services they offer, "physical therapy, speech therapy, nursing services, outdoor trips, a patio with a view, 100-bed skilled facitliy, blah, blah, blah". Like I said before ...Don't believe the hype.
Every facility is mandated to offer social and recreational events. This is the wonderful bingo that is offered or crafts, exercise, or the infamous "pet therapy". These are simply catch phrases. Most of these services are indeed provided, but half-heartedly so. You must realize that the staff that is "trained" to perform these services usually have zero college degrees or training in those capacities. It would be wise to ask a suiting facility what level of training/education do ALL the department members have, not JUST the nursing department. You will find that the overwhelming majority of these people have ZERO training in their capacity and ZERO training in Geriatrics. This would include the following: Recreation Department, Social Services, Medical Records, Administration, Dietary Services, Laundry Services, Maintenance, and Data Entry. Your nurses and nursing assistance MUST hold and maintain in good standing a license or certification. Besides that the majority are anyone that simply applies. I do not want to cast any ill will towars persons without a college education or extended training in a career field, but you must know that the majority of the people providing services/care to our nursing home population have no training with the elderly.
So, you will be provided with a wonderful sales pitch. Ask questions!! It is a must!! Every nursing home has to have a copy of its last state survey available for viewing; ask to see it. If they hesitate or cannot find it or have some other excuse, then I would GREATLY question placing someone there. Ask how many "tags" were recieved on the last survey, they must devulge this information too you. If they have in excess of 5, then question placement. Each department can recieved these tags, not only nursing. These tags also come with a rated severity and explanation of that deficiency. You can read about problems in nursing, dietary, laundry, social services, and determine it that is the right place for placement or not.
Be wary of the sales pitch. Don't buy because you like the paint job, or the fancy flames....lift that hood and kick those tires. Don't believe the sales pitch hype.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Friday, December 18, 2009
ELDER ABUSE IN NURSING HOMES.
Johnathan Rosenfled has blog(http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/nursing-homes-abuse-blog) about elder abuse in nursing homes. Though the most severe abuses are rare, everyday abuse DOES occur. Abuse can be a very simple act with little or no signs. I can also be very obvious with blairing symptoms. Abuse and neglect are two acts that can lead a person into despair and depression. Further complicating their rehab or long term stay.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
What type of Staffing does the Nursing home have?
One of the most single important questions that one can ask is about the staffing. Without appropriate staffing your loved one will perhaps not recieve sufficient enough care.
Ask about the ratio of nursing assistants to residents. Very genrally speaking this ratio should be somewhere around 9:1. This ratio would permit the STNA enough time to fully care for everyone's needs. A ratio higher than that would be difficult for an STNA to meet everyone's needs/wants. The work of an STNA is a VERY difficult one and with high ratios of residents to STNA the job becomes even more difficult and frustrating for the STNA equaling poor work performance.
Also inquire about LPN(Licensed Practical Nurse) and RN(Registered Nurse) ratios. Though most states do not have a standard ratio of residents to nurse, there is a typical line that most homes follow. Usually, that ration is 20-25:1. Just as in the case of an STNA who has higher than capable numbers, the nurse can also become frustrated if the number of residents to care for become too high.
Care-giver strain is a hugely overlooked condition within health care. This is what most nurses term "burn out". With this strain you can find nursing staff that no longer see the compassionate side of what they do and they simply are trying to survive day-to-day within their facility. I will eleborate further on care-give strain in a future blog.
Ask if call-offs are a problem. The likely answer will be "no", but inquire further. Ask if the facility uses Temporaty Nursing Services to fill call-offs off nursing staff. If the answer is "yes", be cautious. Why is this facilty not filling its voids with staff they already know? and why is the staff NOT wanting to work extra hours. I will also elaborate further in a future blog.
Staffing numbers are essential to provide optimal care. Although all facilities have some difficulty filling voids, many do not move aggressively towards maintain good working staff and consistency. Your loved one will find it most comfortable seeing the same faces the majority of the time. This helps to promote good continuity of care and confidence that their needs/desires will be met.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
Ask about the ratio of nursing assistants to residents. Very genrally speaking this ratio should be somewhere around 9:1. This ratio would permit the STNA enough time to fully care for everyone's needs. A ratio higher than that would be difficult for an STNA to meet everyone's needs/wants. The work of an STNA is a VERY difficult one and with high ratios of residents to STNA the job becomes even more difficult and frustrating for the STNA equaling poor work performance.
Also inquire about LPN(Licensed Practical Nurse) and RN(Registered Nurse) ratios. Though most states do not have a standard ratio of residents to nurse, there is a typical line that most homes follow. Usually, that ration is 20-25:1. Just as in the case of an STNA who has higher than capable numbers, the nurse can also become frustrated if the number of residents to care for become too high.
Care-giver strain is a hugely overlooked condition within health care. This is what most nurses term "burn out". With this strain you can find nursing staff that no longer see the compassionate side of what they do and they simply are trying to survive day-to-day within their facility. I will eleborate further on care-give strain in a future blog.
Ask if call-offs are a problem. The likely answer will be "no", but inquire further. Ask if the facility uses Temporaty Nursing Services to fill call-offs off nursing staff. If the answer is "yes", be cautious. Why is this facilty not filling its voids with staff they already know? and why is the staff NOT wanting to work extra hours. I will also elaborate further in a future blog.
Staffing numbers are essential to provide optimal care. Although all facilities have some difficulty filling voids, many do not move aggressively towards maintain good working staff and consistency. Your loved one will find it most comfortable seeing the same faces the majority of the time. This helps to promote good continuity of care and confidence that their needs/desires will be met.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor.
HOW A NURSING HOME GETS CHOSEN
First impression is a VERY good monitor of how the stay at the nursing home will be. When one is at the hospital the discharge planner is communicating with nursing homes about the individual. Yes, they are trying to make the best placement possible for the needs of the individual, but they are also influenced by whom they know at nursing homes. Look at the discharge planner as the used car saleman, trying to place the individual in a car. And view the nursing homes as the car. Many to choose from, but not all run very well.
The discharge planner is constatnly bombarded by solicitation from nursing homes. The homes want the business thus offer up catchy sales pitches or offer up little trinkets(coffee mugs, candy, pens, etc etc) to influence the discharge planner who in turn will influence the patient in picking which nursing home to go too. Yes, it can be a dirty game. But there is ALOT of money that is going to be made by the nursing home and they want your business.
Most poeple do not know this is all going on behind the scenes and just go with what they are told/suggested at the hospital. Having no idea how to investigate on their own before this decision is made. There ARE resources that one can look into. The very first question that one should at the discharge planner when a nursing home is suggested is..."What was their rating from their most recent State survey?" All nursing homes get surveyed by their state every year(they must do this in order to recieve state reimbursment funds). This survey will inform you off all the "tags" (errors) that a facility recieved. I will go into this in detail on a future blog. But just know that the discharge planner is aware of these or at the least can have someone from the prospective facility get you this information.
Keep in mind that the individual or the family of this person are in the position to choose. The hospital is NOT the decision maker. Yes, there needs to be some researching, but this can be done quite easily.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor
The discharge planner is constatnly bombarded by solicitation from nursing homes. The homes want the business thus offer up catchy sales pitches or offer up little trinkets(coffee mugs, candy, pens, etc etc) to influence the discharge planner who in turn will influence the patient in picking which nursing home to go too. Yes, it can be a dirty game. But there is ALOT of money that is going to be made by the nursing home and they want your business.
Most poeple do not know this is all going on behind the scenes and just go with what they are told/suggested at the hospital. Having no idea how to investigate on their own before this decision is made. There ARE resources that one can look into. The very first question that one should at the discharge planner when a nursing home is suggested is..."What was their rating from their most recent State survey?" All nursing homes get surveyed by their state every year(they must do this in order to recieve state reimbursment funds). This survey will inform you off all the "tags" (errors) that a facility recieved. I will go into this in detail on a future blog. But just know that the discharge planner is aware of these or at the least can have someone from the prospective facility get you this information.
Keep in mind that the individual or the family of this person are in the position to choose. The hospital is NOT the decision maker. Yes, there needs to be some researching, but this can be done quite easily.
The opinions of this blog are strictly the opinion of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of others. Be individual writes comments bases upon their own experience/situation. Nursinghomeprocess.blogspot.com is open for public view, though HIPPA laws are maintained by the conductor
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Selecting a Nursing Home for your loved one
Nursing home selection is an extremely trying event. At a time when one is relling from the sudden(or in some cases a long drawn out process) life changing event. This decision is one that is made as a family an effects everyone and, unfortunately, the person being placed is often overseen.
The senior being placed is going through an extremely stressful life changing event. Many times they feel that they are being "ripped" from their homes and that they are going to be abandoned. Sadly, at times this is indeed the truth. But more times that not is it a matter of safety. With aging many independent functions/abilities are lost due to illness, disease, or abrupt changes in condition. This is the natural aging process.
For those families that have experience with Long Term Care, they have an understanding of the process and hopefully have developed an eye for the details. Being able to "see" all that is going to be involved with the care of a loved one is the most valuable tool one can have, but this only comes with much experience.
One must be able to evaluate the surroundings to determine the truth of the setting that they are exposing their loved one too. Here are a few of the details that are good to note from the beginning:
1)Did anyone from the nursing home go to the hospital to meet you?
2)Was your loved one presented with The Resident Bill of Rights? This is legislation enacted by Congress. All residents have rights.
3)Did the nursing home offer to assist with discharge planning from the hospital?
4)Was the very first person you met from the nursing the Social Worker or a Nurse? This is a important part of the admission process. Most social workers are only there to determine payment method and determine placement upon these means. Usually this topic has already been discussed and reviewed before they even meet the senior. If the first meeting is with a nurse, then the nursing's home emphasis is on patient care and this is a very good sign.
5)Once at the nursing home how friendly or unfriendly was the staff? Did they seem busy? Did they welcome you at the door or come to you in your room? Did you have to wait over 30 minutes before anyone greeted you?
6)How long was it before a nursing assistant greeted you? This is extremely important as these are the staff memebers that will be providing direct care. If you had to wait over 30 mintues to be greeted by a nursing assistant, this is not good. They are either overworked and could not get to you in a timely manner or they are perhaps not very motivated to do their work. No one should have to wait longer that 10 minutes(at the extreme) to be acknowledged.
7)How long before the nurse greeted you? Another very important person involved in your care. If the nurse does not greet you within 10 minutes of arrival; this is not a good sign. The nurse is either extremely busy with too large of a work load or is busy doing your admission paperwork. Either way, it is not very professional to not greet and recgonize you.
8)Was the nursing staff friendly? Did they smile? Did they offer up their name and title? These are basics for any introduction, but in this very intimidating setting it is even MORE important to be presented with a warm, comforting individual.
9)Did the nurse offer any type of comfort? Blankets, Pillows, beverage, snack or meal (if close to meal time)? Did they describe any of the recreational events that take place? Did they ask about family relations or personal likes or dislikes?
10) When you entered the building, does it smell clean or smell foul. If the facility has a foul odor at the front door, odds are the residents are not getting sufficient personal care. Take note of this and proceed with a skeptical eye.
This is simply the beginning. There are many, many signs that can be seen to determine if the quality of care is going to be good or bad. I will continue to offer information about the nursing home process.
The goal is to provide information so that we are not blindfolded into the process. What we do not know can definetly harm us or our loved one. The ones we love deserve nothing but the best and hopefully this information will arm us all with the ability to give them the very best.
The senior being placed is going through an extremely stressful life changing event. Many times they feel that they are being "ripped" from their homes and that they are going to be abandoned. Sadly, at times this is indeed the truth. But more times that not is it a matter of safety. With aging many independent functions/abilities are lost due to illness, disease, or abrupt changes in condition. This is the natural aging process.
For those families that have experience with Long Term Care, they have an understanding of the process and hopefully have developed an eye for the details. Being able to "see" all that is going to be involved with the care of a loved one is the most valuable tool one can have, but this only comes with much experience.
One must be able to evaluate the surroundings to determine the truth of the setting that they are exposing their loved one too. Here are a few of the details that are good to note from the beginning:
1)Did anyone from the nursing home go to the hospital to meet you?
2)Was your loved one presented with The Resident Bill of Rights? This is legislation enacted by Congress. All residents have rights.
3)Did the nursing home offer to assist with discharge planning from the hospital?
4)Was the very first person you met from the nursing the Social Worker or a Nurse? This is a important part of the admission process. Most social workers are only there to determine payment method and determine placement upon these means. Usually this topic has already been discussed and reviewed before they even meet the senior. If the first meeting is with a nurse, then the nursing's home emphasis is on patient care and this is a very good sign.
5)Once at the nursing home how friendly or unfriendly was the staff? Did they seem busy? Did they welcome you at the door or come to you in your room? Did you have to wait over 30 minutes before anyone greeted you?
6)How long was it before a nursing assistant greeted you? This is extremely important as these are the staff memebers that will be providing direct care. If you had to wait over 30 mintues to be greeted by a nursing assistant, this is not good. They are either overworked and could not get to you in a timely manner or they are perhaps not very motivated to do their work. No one should have to wait longer that 10 minutes(at the extreme) to be acknowledged.
7)How long before the nurse greeted you? Another very important person involved in your care. If the nurse does not greet you within 10 minutes of arrival; this is not a good sign. The nurse is either extremely busy with too large of a work load or is busy doing your admission paperwork. Either way, it is not very professional to not greet and recgonize you.
8)Was the nursing staff friendly? Did they smile? Did they offer up their name and title? These are basics for any introduction, but in this very intimidating setting it is even MORE important to be presented with a warm, comforting individual.
9)Did the nurse offer any type of comfort? Blankets, Pillows, beverage, snack or meal (if close to meal time)? Did they describe any of the recreational events that take place? Did they ask about family relations or personal likes or dislikes?
10) When you entered the building, does it smell clean or smell foul. If the facility has a foul odor at the front door, odds are the residents are not getting sufficient personal care. Take note of this and proceed with a skeptical eye.
This is simply the beginning. There are many, many signs that can be seen to determine if the quality of care is going to be good or bad. I will continue to offer information about the nursing home process.
The goal is to provide information so that we are not blindfolded into the process. What we do not know can definetly harm us or our loved one. The ones we love deserve nothing but the best and hopefully this information will arm us all with the ability to give them the very best.
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