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Our employers told us you do not need all 5 whys filled out to come up with an answer. Another poster was correct, you sometimes will find no reason for the fall. I would have put after he is unable to use callight, it's because he has poor safety awareness and why that is because he has dementia then stop. This would only be used if no other problems could be found like if he could be helped by a scheduled tolieting program.

Well I am a nurse on an Alzheimer/Dementia unit and I love the Exelon patch! It does not help everyone, but it takes place of Namenda and Aricept, so that helps with the residents that hate taking pills. Also we have found it helps with the "want to go home" behavior that so many of our dear residents have. I currently have 5 people on it right now (we have suggested it after other treatments fail) and it helps calm them but it doesn't effect their ambulation or participation in activities.

Well found out that they are eliminating a full-time 1st shift position on my floor when they go to 8hr shifts. I don't have seniority so I'm probably out. I'm not the only one either. There are probably a dozen or so people, maybe more, that will be looking for new jobs. They say its cost effective and will save time finding replacements for call offs, but I think they are just weeding out the people they don't like. I can't go back to 2nd shift. I have 4 kids and its hard enough to spend time with them as it is with school and sports. Can't take a part time shift, wouldn't be able to afford health insurance and buy food at the same time. I think if I don't get the position (even though it's my position to begin with), it's time to pull out the old resume. Thanks for all the replies.

Has anybody ever worked in a facility that had 12 hr shifts, but then changed them to 8 hr shifts? How did it affect all the personnel involved? I also heard that you could apply for unemployment if you got bumped from your job or offered another shift you could not work.

Yes my facility also started this about 6 months ago. It took awhile to get things started and get paperwork for it, but it does get easier. The only complaint I have is that Hospice people are suffering when they get a new order for Roxanol or Ativan or is a brand new resident, I have to track down the Doctor on the weekend for him to call in the scripts to the pharmacy. And yes that is what we did, but he got upset and told us to have the pharmacy call him. We waited 5 hours before we got the ok to pull it from our C-box.

HaHa I have to laugh because on a weekly basis I'm always looking for something, may it be glasses, teeth, hearing aids, canes, jewelry. Now for some, we nurses and aides have to actually sign off in our books that we took whatever and locked it up at night and then give it back in a.m. But this doesn't help when they throw their teeth away after lunchtime huh! Make it known to family right away that this is part of the process sometimes and you will do your best to keep track of the item, but don't promise anything.

Thanks all for giving us the reassurance we need. He has had a rough childhood and is doing better so my husband thought with his mother now. Now we aren't so sure. I think we will have to have a heart to heart with his mother and talk her into him seeing a counselor before going to a psychiatrist, to see why he is having outbursts besides being 13.

My 13 year old step son was at the pediatrician's office for an illness and only after 15 minutes he was back with a prescription for Depakote with a diagnosis of bipolar. He said he told the Dr. he couldn't control his anger sometimes and his mom told him it ran in the family so he prescribed it. Isn't that a little soon to diagnose someone so young so fast? He just turned 13 and he seems fine to me except having teenage hormone fits. I would hate for him to take Depakote if not needed but his mom thinks it's just great. It's just sad that teenagers can't be teenagers anymore without us dianosing them with a mental disorder and giving them medicine to make them "behave" the way we want them too.

Are you sure you are closed to ALL Medicare admissions? A couple months ago my facility learned that we couldn't accept certain admissions that we normally would have due to a change in Medicare reimbursement. There wasn't anything that we did wrong, just we wouldn't get paid for it anymore so we had to turn away admissions even though we were low census.

How sad this story is about the long journey of Alzheimers. I will be posting this on my own dementia unit to remind others how our beloved residents see things and how we seem to them. Thank you for sharing.

We just had our survey and the nursing part went pretty smooth, they were really nit picky and cited us for maintenace things. When they have to watch my med pass I make sure to use the resident with the most meds that takes them whole and won't refuse them. That way the surveyors get their quota on meds to watch and leave. This has worked for me twice.

Social Security told him he could not refuse and they just added it to his normal check.

My brother has had a dx of Schizophrenia for about 20 years now and I'm just so sick of the government changing Medicare and Medicaid so much, I swear it's just to drive sane people insane! It all started 5 years ago when my father died, since my brother is on SSI he got an increase as a benificary from my father. Well the increase kicked him off of Medicaid, so he had to start paying 750.00 a month for Zyprexa. Finally we got him on a Medicare plan for him to pay only 15.00 a month. Flash to today...... He went to pick up his supply and he was told that he now has to pay 380.00 copay each year to receive his meds? Of course no one will talk to my mother or me due to HIPPA and he won't let us look at any Medicare books he may have received because he is paranoid. He only has 150.00 left after rent and groceries each month and we are hoping that the pharmacy will take payments because they have before. It's just crazy that they do this to people in need. Now he will literally be wild for a couple months until it's paid. Anybody have suggestions? Please don't suggest to try to have him declared incompetent or be his POA. Been there done that, judge denied it. I know stupid huh!

The simplest things are great activies for dementia pts. Singing is the number one for us. Another could be tossing a ball around the room to music. It's a great rom excercise and it's alot of fun in which most of them think it's hilarous when they hit me with the ball on accident. Crayons and books are also a great "quiet" activity, just watch for the pts that don't know what it is and try to eat them.

I'm with all other posters that to not mix Lantus with any other insulin. Also as an FYI the new insulin that is out Symlin, also cannot be mixed with any other insulin. I had a pt that had Symlin, Lantus and Humalog. Poor thing had to have 3 shots. I learned not to mix Lantus when I was orienting and the nurse I was with mixed them and taught me to mix them until another nurse told us it was wrong.