Home care hospice....challeging

[momcat107]

:smackingfThis week I celebrate 10 yrs working for ...hospice.:balloons:My job title is home health aide...but we are so much more.The nurses I work with are the absolute best,and always stand behind the aides.I often shoulder more than my share,because I care about my patients.Lately I have noticed a strange occurance and I have brought it up to my supervisors,because of the potential of risk.To qualify for our hospice homecare,there has to be a responsible person to be the ultimate caregiver. In the last month, I had an elderly woman end stage lung/brain ca.Her primary caregiver was her elderly husband who was trying very hard to care for her,but due to macular degeneration and an old cva ,he couldnt turn her or give her even predrawn meds...an elderly bedbound woman end stage copd,pagets disease,dementia , and extremly obese.Primary caregiver is a 50 ish Dtr who is very high strung,very unaccepting of moms diagnosis and things can only be done her way.keeps moms bedroom so hot I have almost passed out. She is so afraid mom will catch a cold if the window is open.Its July ITS 85 degrees...Next we have a 72 yr old lovely intelligent gentleman who has lung liver bone and brain. His primary caregiver is his lovely wife. who unfortatly has Alzheimers. Late stage one/early two.very bad sundowners.He took a fall and she wouldnt/couldnt bring him the phone. The clincher was this weekend I did a last minute visit,Lymphoma,bone ,lung ,brain. Sent home to die, Primary caregiver? His wife who has end stage parkinsons who is unable to speak or move. Whatsssup? Anyone having similiar issues? Thanks for letting me sound off.I now have our social workers on speed dial as well as my supervisor. 90 % of the time I love my job.The other 10% .......

[tencat]

You must work at the same hospice I do! With a lot of our patients we could certainly do a '2 for 1' special. The hospice I work for doesn't (as far as I know) have a hard and fast rule that there has to be a 'healthy' caregiver. Not a bad idea, however.

A wonderful aide is worth his/her weight in GOLD (and then some! ) I don't know what we'd do without our good aides. They really keep things together.

[lesrn2005]

[quote A wonderful aide is worth his/her weight in GOLD (and then some! ) I don't know what we'd do without our good aides. They really keep things together.

I 2nd that!!

[seasonedlpn]

I can trelate....our Aides are the eyes and ears of our Hospice....I trust the ones I work with, no questions asked.

The problem we are addressing seems to be the lack of competent caregivers...and I sympathize. The fact we all are missing is this: the patients do not belong to us....they belong to their families and caregivers. I, too, have seen less-than-adequate care....but we can only do what the families will permit. We just keep trying to come up with reasonable solutions to, what sometimes amounts to, impossible situations....sometimes we come up with a miracle...other times we flop. We are there to assist the caregivers, not to become the caregivers....all we can do is our very best....the rest is up to........