The Meaning of Toilets

I went into a nursing home the other day to see a client. She has not been there long, she was admitted when she could no longer live on her own in the assisted living facility where she had been. What makes this situation interesting is that she used to be on the Board of Directors of this nursing home where she now lives.
The home prides itself on the quality of care that it provides, and in fact, does have a very good reputation in the community.

Yes, but what about the toilets, you are wondering...

Okay, well I noticed that this home has washrooms reserved for staff, and other ones for residents. The former are marked staff only, or are locked, so that the only way you can use it is if you have a key, which the residents do not.

I thought to myself, I wonder what it is like for my lady to be here, and now be a resident when once she was on the Board? And what is it like for her now that she is not welcome to use the washroom which just a few years ago she did use?

What does it say when places strive to make themselves homelike, resident focussed, consumer driven, or whatever buzz words we use these days, and then they tell residents that they are not allowed to use certain washrooms? The staff can use their washrooms. It is just one other subtle way that we make homes into institutions, and create people who are second in line.

Who would have thought that toilets could speak?

Time For Caregivers

Sometimes I think about what I have done all day; I ask my self where did the day go, and why didn't I accomplish what I had set out to do. When I look back , and analyze my day, I realize how the time went. Recently, I have begun to unclutter my day by letting go of what I don't need to do, and sometimes don't even want to do.

It reminds me of a talk I had a year or so ago with the members of a support group for caregivers. We were talking asbout the same thing, how they never seemed to have time for themselves. We looked at all the tasks they were performing, and all the things they were doing, and we talked about uncluttering--just the way you do with a closet or a room in your house. At first it seemed daunting to people. They objected, saying that I didn't really understand what it was like for them, and how they had to run every day, and how they had their mother/father/husband plus their own husband/kids/ etc.

But then when they started to think about it, and writing down what they had done, they began to see that there were lots of ways that minutes added up to the hours. It was as if they stopped the whirlwind that came in the emotional exhaustion and stress, and could see a bit of an island.

I don't know what they did with those minutes, or how they followed up, but my guess would be that, if they followed through, there was more time for themselves than they had thought.

Like there is more time for me. I could stop writing postings for this blog. That would give me........hmmmm

Medical Services Plan--to the Premier of BC

Dear Gordeon Campbell,

When you contracted out services of MSP to a call centre in Virginia, or somewhere, it seems to me we were to expect better service. I waited fifteen minutes on hold the other day, only to be told that the person I was talking to could not help me, and she would have to pass me to someone else. Then I waited another fifteen minutes, and that person could not help me either. They did however take my name and number for a supervisor to call me back.

I guess the good news is that I didn't get a busy signal like I used to. The bad news is I had to wait over half an hour--at my client' s expense. I dunno, but that seems like a lot of waiting to do.

Communication and Care Facilities

Recently I found out that the mental health team had been in to see a client at a nursing home. They had increased the psychiatric medication, meaning she ended up being more drugged.

I spoke to the family about this. They did not know that the team had been in, nor did they know about the change in medication. The facility did not call them, nor, obviously, did they call me.

The increase in medication is a bit questionnable, but after a few weeks, she is still alert and active, and in fact expressing more contentment with being in the facility. It has helped with some of her restlessness a bit, and allowed her to integrate more with the other residents. So, in the end, it did not have a bad outcome.

Could the behaviour have been dealt with in other ways? Maybe. Did it have to be dealt with? Well, again, maybe. The extent of her restlessness and intrusiveness was diffiuclt to handle in this setting, or any other. She is eating better and has made an additional friend.I would say the benefits outweighed the negatives. Certainly, the staff is good with her, they are kind and patient, and it is a nice, but large place.

However--what there is no excuse for , is that they did not keep me or the family informed re the developments in her care. If I hadn't checked today, I would not have known. They had also forgotten to do the blood tests which had to be done following the increase in the medication. I have been pretty clear with them about my involvement, and that I am monitoring her care.

The family is now going to write out a letter to the facility in which they are clear about when they wish to be contacted, and about what subjects. They will also write out a contact process so that the facility knows whom to contact, and in what order.

So for you, if you are family or friends--again a warning: be clear about your expectations, and be clear about what the facility can say they will do.

Otherwise, there will be surprises!