LTC workers

[momtojosh]

i have a question to all of you who work in LTC...i have an 89 yr ol aunt who lives in one...she had a few strokes along the road and her right arm is all curled up and doenst us it...she still insist on transferring herself to wheelchair,to recliner and bed and walks to the bathroom...she has fallen a number of times and ended up to the ER,she has broken her wrist and which she would not leave the cast on...this last time (last week) she ended up in the ER and i went up to sit with her as my mother is 84 and was sore from backpain that day, my aunt can not communicate she can say some words but when she swears,oh boy,you know what she is saying....she is a liitle tiny thing 4ft 5 in....and fiesty..she will yell at the aides and nurses and will not accept any help alot of times....my mom visits her 2-3x a week depending on her back...and while there she helps my aunt to her wheelchair and wheels her down to the dining hall....one of these times they are BOTH going to fall..i tell my mom to ring her bell for someone to help then she can push her to the hall.....my aunt is miserable to my mom but its my moms doing as she will try to fix her shirt,wipe her mouth etc...she is at her..i tell her to just leave her alone,stop picking....just sit and visit...she always thinks she has to pick up the room or straighten her drawers...

back to the falls.....i suggested to my mom we have a meeting to let them know we would like a bed/chair alarm....my aunt will not use her call button...you suggest it to her and she just throws it....she is something i tell you....yet she can be the sweetest lil thing...they all seem to like her up there and know exactly how she is...but my mom is concerned...becasue of the falls and she thinks she inst being watched enough....the workers let her take her food,like a piece of meat back to her room and she keeps it under her pillow....my mom finds this and gets upset....she gets upset when she has a dirty shirt on,or when her underpants arent pulled,yes,she helps her to the bathroom when she visits to,

what do you think? any suggestions for any of it?

sorry if here and there....it is election day and the phones are ringing off the hook

what are all of your takes on any of this...esp on how to deal with the falls

t

[egglady, LPN]

sounds like she shouldnt live alone- maybe its time to get a social worker involved? Is the Dx Dementia?

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

sounds like she shouldnt live alone- maybe its time to get a social worker involved? Is the Dx Dementia?

She doesn't live alone, according to the original post. She lives in a LTC facility (a.k.a. nursing home).

[systoly]

It sounds as though your aunt is not only desperately clinging to her independence, but it is her lifeline. Take it away and her quality of life will cease to exist. Allowing a person to experience maximum independence and or being free from restraints (your aunt will see the bed alarm as a restraint) means accepting a certain level of risks. We all take risks on a daily basis when we get in a car, use power tools, etc., etc. The stroke has caused your aunt a great deal of loss. She's not ready to give up more. Acknowledge to her the importance of independence, even praise her. Explain nobody wants to take her independence, but help her preserve it by avoiding further loss caused by injury from falls. Don't just present her with interventions, but involve her in the process. Discuss options with her and see what would be acceptable to her. Again, use an approach that won't make you an enemy, but an ally in a common goal. She doesn't want to fall or risk injury, she just doesn't want to be completely helpless.