Rest Homes/Retirement Homes Nursing Homes vs Homecare......Comments

  Always Rosie.......I wanted to comment on what you had said in the post under "burn out".......Mom was a nurse in a London Sanitarium(psyche) hospital for many years and then she decided to special in  Geriatrics:this was great for her and she loved her work but it also had its d/s, she began to drink heavily after her shift was over (11 7) and moreso if someone had passed away.Mom would be horrified at the way some nurses looked after patients and she became an advocate for their rights.This also put a heavy burden on her as other nurses would not talk to her and she was shunned and labelled a stoolie.My mother instilled in me the ethics of a real nurse and I have the heart of a real nurse (so does SL)You are their for the patient and work for them..........protect them and even love them(even though you are told not too get emotionally att) I always got attached lol..........Anyways my mother father and I have had a written ageement that if anything should happen I will not let them go to a home.I am the eldest chil (51) and I will not put them in one.You are right when you say that some do it just to ease themselves but my sibs have said quite bluntly that because i have crohns that it would be better to put her in a home ......................thats not the reason at all it is to help them not feel guilty for not being there to see her or help with anything .and they live in the same small town...........they will go and see her for what they need if I am not there to intervene but thats it and it makes me furious.For some peeps the nursing home or other facilty is the answer and there are some really good ones out there but for me and because of my mothers fear  and the promise I made her and dad that is not something i would do.We (nurses) are trained for situations like this and so the real heroes in my books are the ones that go into caring for their loved ones almost blindsighted BUT with a real and honest concern for the person they care for.........I am not saying by no means that all families have to look after their loved ones again I believe it all depends on the situation,and I think that the facility should be fully checked out and see if it rec its accreditation and there are so many q to ask and find out .For some reason the "smell " of a home is a big thing to me and the "feeling" I get when I walk in ...I have not taken jobs years ago over these things but thats prob just me.Also I dont think people are bad or wrong if they have to put their loved one in a home as i said it depends on the situation..........sorry for the lenghth of post but I wanted to explain my reason for doing what i do for my mom beside the incredible love i have for this woman ..Take Care and God Bless You and Your Family

With all the HC cut backs it is hard to have a good nh or rh here in Canada rest homes are NOT regulated by any governing agency...it has to be something the Administator asks for .We had ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES,A panel of docs and advocates for the residents at the home I was involved with.This was for the residents sake and for the staff as well as they do get a bum rap at times.Like I had said in previous post there are so many questions that should be asked prior to having your loved one placed.Like who is responsible for handling of of MARS sheets(drug sheets) and drugs.Again here in Canada health care aides do the drug rounds in some homes this to me is a big no no and it is setting peeps up that are not qualified to do the job but are getting MINIMUM wage.This allows the Owner of the home to get away with basically paying diddly for what they would have to pay a Reg. Nurse/or a LPN with pharmacology.Does this sound right to you? When I took over the home those things were first on the list to change there was a qualified person handling the meds on all shifts and had the key to drug cart(if the person who was scheduled was ill /called in then I would do the drug rounds) this keeps all drugs accounted for especially narcotics.Narcotics were counted at the beginning and end of shift (changeover)(usually most narcotics were tylenol 3s but did have morphine for cancer patients) Mistakes were made dont get me wrong but we usually found the reason and if justified the nurse responsible was wrote up.If it occured with the same nurse for 3xs 2 written reports 3rd fired with a written explanation.I must say I ran a tight ship but also we had good repor with the staff and residents.There are alot more q to ask but that one is highly important. Again there are some great homes out there and it is up to the person and families involved. I stress ask ,ask, and keep on asking til you get the answers you want .............Take Care and God Bless You and Your Family

SnowyLynne ..............It never ceases to amaze me the amount of nurses and docs that are addicts....you figure the high stress working environment+ the availibility of the meds =addiction.I think for me it was seeing and knowing that there were so many addicted because of their committment to caring for patients .like they start out needing that boost because they were on overload,made committments and whatever it took for them to fulfill their obligations took over all sense of reason.I know I have seen too many lose their lives, or jobs, respect of fellow workers basiclly everything and all for that need to get the job done.Most were not able to say no to shifts/worked doubles ect.I was shown first hand what this could do to a warm wonderful,and totally committed nurse (my mom )at the beginning of my nursing career...........she would drink herself into oblivion after her shifts were over and this I honestly believe was a lesson for me .It was definetely a hard lesson for me and the family but a life saving lesson at best.It wasnt pills but an addiction just the same.I dont think peeps really understand unless they are in that position where all those pills are and the temptation ...and the strength to not spiral towards a life threatening situation.....Take Care and Larry too ....God Bless

In Ontario
They are FINALLY bringing in Laws to Regulate Retirement homes and Rest homes
Dang well needed IMHO

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