OzarksgalCNA

Based on what I saw at another LTC owned by the same company, the unit doors needed a code to get out. I just found this information at this website: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0839.htm 1. Minimum requirements for nursing staff must be based on the ratio of three hours of nursing care per resident per 24 hours. Licensed nursing staff and nursing aides can be included in the ratio. Staffing requirements are based on resident census. 2. An RN or LPN must be present on all shifts. 3. If the designated A/D Unit is not freestanding, licensed nursing staff may be shared with the rest of the facility for purposes of meeting the minimum staffing requirements. 4. Only staff trained in the care of persons with Alzheimer’s and other dementia can be assigned to the unit. 5. A minimum of two staff members must be on the A/D Unit at all times.

Edited because I can't spell Missouri...LOL Lesson-don't eat PB & J and type at the same time. The place I work is getting ready to open the Alzheimer's Hall....it will be a locked down unit (except that showers are outside the doors) and will be staffed by 2 CNA's (so they say) but no nurse. Some of us were wondering if this was even legal? One of our CNA's worked a locked down unit by himself and got pretty beat up because there was no one to come help him.

5 mins, 1.2 miles Sooooo nice when coming home at 10pm after a hard shift.

I've done both. Right now I have my own Hall, which I love. I still help out on the other Halls, tho, which keeps me in the loop and I can take care of most every resident we have (we have about 70 right now).

My lady with dementia was wanting to go to the "Bad Boys Room". Told her once I found it we would both go.

You are definitely not too old. I'm 54, have been a CNA for one year and am hopefully headed for LPN school in January (Letters are going out Sept. 30). After that I'm going to bridge over to RN. ~Anna~

I'm not quite in your boat, but I understand where you're coming from. I'm 54, recently separated and soon to be divorced, buying a house because my house payments will be about $200 cheaper than my rent, raising a 16yo son, and headed for LPN school in January and then bridge to RN after that. I became a CNA 10 months ago and work at an LTC (have applied for a job at the hospital) and plan on working just weekends once I'm in school. I have a little savings and will be putting as much in there as possible, plus get grants and whatever I can for school. I've wanted to be a nurse for over 40 years and I WILL achieve my dream because I know that the Lord will provide for me. I wish you the best as you push forward in your life.

I haven't been accepted yet, but I'm hoping to start LPN school in January. I've done all the testing, just waiting for my interview. I'm 54.

I've been working as a CNA for 10 months and am applying for LPN school which starts in January. I'm hoping to take a Med Tech class in August and work 3 days a week as Med Tech while going to school. After school I can work at my LTC as an LPN while going to school for my RN. I'm 54, but I figure I've got a good 20 years to work yet...LOL

I am 54 and have been working as a CNA for 7 months in a LTC facility...first step on my road to becoming an RN which I've wanted to do since I was young. I am applying for the LPN school at our local Technical Collage which starts next January, then plan on bridging over to RN after that. We don't have any pre-regs for LPN, but I do have to take an ACT test this Saturday and then a TABE (Test for Adult Basic Education) in June, with interviews in September. They are only taking 24 students and admission will be based on test scores, references, and the interview. I'm getting references from my DON, ADON, and another RN who is our weekend acting DON. Right now there are at least 5 of us from the nursing home applying for this LPN school, and the other 4 are all youngsters in their 20's.

I'm proud to be a CNA.....I love taking care of my residents and I confess that I tend to spoil them. I have my own hall with 7 residents, 4 of whom are total care, 2 are partial care, and 1 is independent. I know who wants what when, and exactly how my residents want something done. They hate it when I'm off and love to see me come back. I am 54 and have wanted to be a nurse for over 40 years. I actually started RN school back in 1973 but quit to get married (I was 18). Since then I've moved around a lot, married twice, and just this past year moved to a town where I could get into nursing via getting certified as a CNA by the LTC I work at. I'm going on from here and hopefully starting LPN class next January and then bridging to RN ADN after that.

We work on a two-week rotational schedule and right now I'm scheduled for 10 days every two weeks....but that doesn't mean much because the last few weeks we have been understaffed and I ended up working my days off. I have actually put in 7 days in a row a couple of times, got 1 or 2 days off, then back to work for 3 or 4 days. Now we have two new CNA's and we are overstaffed, so some people will be going home (we are only allowed 7 CNA's on second shift). You have to come in, see who is there, and then they take volunteers to go home. Sometimes we will have 8 - 10 people scheduled to work.

I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones. I have my own linen cart, about 5' long and 7' high with 3 shelves. Enough room for gowns, washrags, towels, bath blankets, sheets, blankets, bedspreads, and anything else I might want to put on there. There is a cover on it, so I stash my bottle of tea on there, along with my stethoscope.

I've done some research on this for a friend of mine who started at our LTC last June and was told she had to work for x amount of time. She was wanting to go work someplace else and was concerned about paying the company back. When I started in September the training was free and I didn't have to commit to any amount of time. According to the law, if an LTC accepts Medicare/Medicaid, they are to provide the training free of any obligation to stay. After she asked the LTC about this discrepency (her having to pay and me not) they said "Oh, yeah, we changed that." But they never bothered telling her.

My facility also has this program, but you have to agree to 2 years service for each year of school. I hope to start LPN school next January but I'm paying for it myself because I don't want to commit to my LTC for that length of time. I am hoping to go for CMT in June and then work as a Med Tech while I'm in school next year. I will be able to work Fri and Sat. My ADON is very supportive of me going for Med Tech and then continuing on for LPN.