The Other Patient
Nursing home care has improved dramatically over the last decade - I am proud of our advances. Many facilities are now restraint free, and decubitus ulcers have decreased considerably.
Lately I have recognized a new challenge in our field. There is growing commitment to preventative measures. We all believe in it. We have never stopped documenting it; but are we directly looking to aid that patient who is silently suffering, just waiting to become our next incident report?
Challenges
State Surveys, insurance reimbursements and accreditations demand a tremendous amount of time from all heath care providers. Yet as long term care professionals, our responsibilities include ensuring that each and every patient who is dependent on us receives appropriate care. We have learned to screen, plan and implement with great success. When one of our seniors begins to deteriorate we move in to action. If skin integrity is the issue, departments formulate their interventions, pressure relieving treatments are begun, the patient is observed closely and new equipment may be ordered. Likewise, when a patient falls we quickly intervene: fall prevention teams gather, close supervision is mandated, physical therapy evaluates and alternate seating options are explored.
The Other Patient
Who is The Other Patient? She is the woman whose skin is still intact, thou she may be on the verge of breakdown. He is the man who sacral slides in the chair but, has never fallen out. They are the patients who don’t complain about their sore bottoms or aching backs. These are the patients who often don’t fully experience our expertise and compassion until after an occurrence.
As a registered nurse working with the geriatric population for over twenty five years I have come to realize that with all our proficiency in planning, treating, fixing and documenting each problem that arises, it is easy to become blinded to a growing majority of patients.
Jennifer Skula, RN
Healthcare Consultant
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
