Patients in Nursing Facility

[webblarsk]

I have a patient beginning the stages of dying in a LTC facility. I spent time with him last night getting his pain med's adjusted and speaking with his wife. This morning I went over and checked on him, did a complete assess. Making sure pt is pain free and comfortable. The wife has a sister-in-law and preacher with her. I guess my question is I am feeling guilty that I am not over there sitting with her just waiting................ I work for a small hospice in a rural area and I am the only on-call nurse so I have other call's I have to handle. My guestion is how other hospice's handle the dying process in a nursing facility. Do you do continuous care? Do you ensure that the pt's and family's needs are being taken care of and let the nursing facility handle the primary care of the patient? I am curious about how its handled elsewhere? Thanks in advance!

P.S. Sorry for the rambling!

[leslie :-D]

when i worked in a hospice house, there was a snf attached to it.

when a pt. was dying, the snf contracted with a particular hospice agcy.

the hospice nurse would come out to assess and reassess, but never stayed long. they all depended on the nsg staff to carry out their orders and to ensure they stayed comfortable.

leslie

[aimeee, BSN, RN]

We have a very limited staff for continuous care so we don't initiate it in a nursing facility if the patient's symptoms are under control and the family is coping well. We are most likely to initiate continuous care if the patient is struggling with a lot of terminal restlessness. If the patient is as comfortable as possible under the circumstances but the family is falling apart, then we call upon the counseling services staff to come and help.

Sounds like you did just the right thing as an on call nurse. Let go of that guilt!

[webblarsk]

Thanks guys. I just need to let go of the guilt! I am fixing to go check in with him and the family!