I'm working at a place which really prides itself on the assisted living concept. In theory I think the idea is amazing. In action, I'm seeing that there's a lot of denial going on, and it's the staff (and ultimately residents) who suffer.
We don't have as many staff (one nurse for over 50 residents, and at night, 2 aides, and 3 or 4 on other shifts), and don't have resources because the admin. thinks the residents are independent. Some of them are, but there are a lot who are not. For some, they should have hoyer lifts, yet they don't even have an appropriate bed that lifts to a safe level for transfer! We have residents who need turned and repositioned every 2h, but I've noticed not even pillows or anything that gives a clue that it's being done. The needs of the residents are great, yet there isn't enough staff or support.
There's a high rate of turnover. I want to make it work, but there isn't flexibility in schedules, there isn't resources to care for residents, and the aides are all angry and overworked it seems.
I think I'd rather be in a nursing home that at least accepts that they need funding for things like assistive devices and has more than one nurse per shift working. I know things can be challenging in every environment, but I'd be happier if we could at least face issues, and not act like everything is rosy and wonderful when it's not.
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