opinions

[tiger]

hi. i work on a rehab floor(inpatient). would like your input. we have always encouraged our pts. to be up and to the dining room for meals but sometimes they don't want or feel like it. our manager resigned a few months ago and the new acting(a charge who no one respects) is insisting that everyone be in the dining room for every meal. some of our pts. are very old and need to rest in between therapies.some are just very sick and need to rest or can't do therapy. some are nauseated and don't want to try and eat in the dining room(it is embarrassing to vomit in a room full of people). or various other reasons. as far as i know the criteria for rehab is to be able to attend so many hours of therapy per day. some are willing to be in the chair in their room with family to eat. this acting manager wants us not to feed the pts. that refuse to go to the dining room. i have a problem with this. is it right to give an ultimatim--go to the dining room or don't eat!!!! alot of the pts. don't care if they eat or not/live or die.if you give them a little choice/ a little bit of caring attitude instead of demands many will choose to eat and try to get better. anyone else ever had an issue with this. ihave been ignoring the managers instructions and serving people as i see fit. if an issue arises should i contact pt. advocate???????

[thisnurse]

if i didnt contact the pt advocate i would feel like i was helping her with her program.(whatever the hell it is)

id hate having to go to the dining room to eat.

and theres nothing more apetizing than watching someone vomit when you are eating...oh the sounds, the smells...lol

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Not FEED the ones who don't want to go to the dining room?

Sheesh that's got to be illegal. It's certainly immoral.

These people are PAYING to be in this place?

You want to contact the patient advocate? I say do it.

[Furball]

Since when have rehab joints been tranformed into jails!!! Geesh!

I don't like to call people names but this new manager is an idiot:rolleyes:

[Arwen]

While its great to do everything you can to encourage people to be up and out of their rooms for meals, refusing to feed them if they don't go to the dining room obviously goes too far. Don't know what the regs are for hospitals, but it would certainly earn a citation in LTC! Do what you need to, Tiger!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

If one of my family members was treated like this, I would have their job!! My father had open heart surgery (CABG redo and valve replacement) at a large hospital in Chicago in 1998. He had a CVA (mild) after surgery. They restrained him and he continually wet himself. (They had orders to call us and we would come sit with him!) My father is elderly, frail and a hand amputee - so they tied his upper arm down - I had the charge RN, and the hospital vice-president at my father's bedside to explain that one!!

I would have the patient advocate come visit this little gulag you call a rehab unit and get these poor patients some help!!

Maybe denying the manager a meal would be appropriate!@

[colleen10]

Oooohhhhh, this steams me!

My great grandmother is in an assisted living complex and it seems sometimes that people forget that these are adults and that they should be treated as such, with respect and the ability to make their own decisions. Just because people are sick or elderly doesn't mean they should be treated like children.

I would ask the manager why she wants all the patients down in the dining room. In her mind, she may have a reasonably perfect explanation. Perhaps she is concerned about something and thinks they should all be in the dining hall. Maybe she thinks that the nurses and support staff spend too much time helping the patients that eat in their rooms, etc. After listening to her I would explain the reasons why some patients should stay in their rooms and try to address her concerns with alternatives to allow them to remain in their rooms.

If she doesn't want to work with you on it I would bring in anyone that would get this situation resolved!

[LTC-LPN]

You MUST feed the patients. It doesn't matter where they eat, dining room or their own room, but they MUST be offered their meals. I would say that withholding meals for any reason is abuse. If someone has c/o nausea, I would modify their meal to a light meal or get them something they feel they could handle, but they must be given something. You must advocate for your patients, right away. Not feeding someone because they won't go to the dining room cannot count as a refusal. They need their meals to gain their strength to participate fully in rehab. Yikes. Meals cannot be withheld because the patient won't go to the dining room. Good luck being an advocate for your patients... it is the right thing to do.

Jane Ann

[CATHYW]

My mother-in-law, who is in a LTC facility (Alzheimer's) is a total care. Sometimes she is alert enough to be up in a WC and be fed in the dining area. Other days she is barely "with it" and is fed in her room. The aides know what to fix for her if she doesn't eat the provided meal. Cornbread mushed up in buttermilk is always a sure bet.

My husband and I are thankful for these VERY overworked folks who seem to care about their residents.:)