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signet

signet LPN

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signet's Latest Activity

  1. signet

    Printing advertising on PPE

    signet posted a topic in COVID

    This is kind of a wild idea, but I wonder if it would work? Hospitals and LTC's need all the PPE they can get, but it's very expensive and hard to find. What if companies paid to have masks and gowns made with their logo printed on them. They could then donate these and get free advertising. If you had many companies doing this, the stocks of supplies would go up considerably. Of course, the gear would have to be made to CDC guidelines. What do you think?
  2. signet

    Should factories continue making ventilators?

    signet replied to Floor_Nurse's topic in COVID

    We need to keep producing ventilators and PPE until we have a vaccine and it's widely available. A country like the US should NEVER be short of basic medical supplies again. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Any equipment that becomes outdated can be sold or donated to third world countries at a later time, perhaps 2025. A national stockpile of medical supplies should be constantly replenished, in case some other emergency, which WILL happen sooner or later. We also need another two hospital ships like the Comfort and Mercy. This will cost a great deal of money, but it will be cheaper than playing catch up.
  3. signet
    It seems to be the case that children and young adults (under 20) aren't getting seriously ill from Covid19. Why? If we could find out, maybe there is a way to give this protection to adults. Has anyone tried taking a blood donation from a high school age person and giving it to an older person to see if there would be any protection imparted? This seems like a simple idea that wouldn't cause harm to either person. If there's something in the blood protecting younger people that we have not yet discovered, wouldn't this be prudent? I'm talking about a standard blood donation, not convalescent plasma. Does anyone know if this has been tried?
  4. signet

    Nursing Homes. The bodies are just pilling up.

    signet replied to xanderx's topic in COVID

    You nurses who say that these seniors have lived too long, because they've been propped up by modern medicine. How about those vaccines and pediatrician visits you got as a child. A hundred years ago, you may have died in childhood, did medicine prop YOU up? How about the chances you're getting because of school. You can put all those initials after your name. That's because of all the people who came before you and helped pave the way. Those are the same ones who you say have outlived their usefulness and deserve to die. Adolf would be proud of you. Wait until you get a few years past your prime. Things will look different.
  5. signet
    The politicians aren't smart enough to figure out such a complex plan.:) I think the reason behind low testing rates is the unavailability of tests. I think when the antibody test becomes available, the number of asymptomatic people will be staggering.
  6. signet
    Before you got sick. You were taking care of Covid19 patients. That makes you a HERO. If you were n the army. They would give you a purple heart. Stay home until you feel well enough to return to work. Find a Dr. Who will support you, not one paid by your employer. You will find a job after all this is over. There's still a nursing shortage. I was told by a wise person once,"You have to take care of yourself, before you can help others." Many nurses forget this and it leads to their downfall.
  7. signet

    Half the deaths in PA in LTC

    signet posted a topic in COVID

    Half the number of deaths from Covid19 in the state of Pennsylvania occurred in long term care centres according to the latest statistics. This is heartbreaking. The most vulnerable segment of our population is being decimated. My heart breaks for everyone of these poor souls and the brave people who show up every day to care for them.
  8. signet

    Iron Lung vs. Ventilator

    signet replied to Bill Levinson's topic in COVID

    Bill, I had the same thoughts as you. I posted in the pulmonary nursing forum. I called friends who work in hospitals and they asked respiratory therapists about using a modern day iron lung. The response from them was that the iron lung style of negative pressure ventilator would not work with Covid19 patients. This was because of the infection and loss of elasticity in their lungs due to the disease. The polio patients lungs were otherwise healthy but they couldn't breathe due to loss of muscle contractions. They said the positive pressure ventilator is needed to keep the aveoli inflated. Negative pressure ventilators, could be used in noncovid cases to free up the positive pressure ventilators. This is the answer I got after many questions and it makes sense to me.
  9. signet

    Covid-19: The Guilt of the Work From Home Nurse

    signet replied to maybug's topic in COVID

    To all of us who are not on the front lines, maybe we are right where we are supposed to be, right where God wants us. I worked in nursing homes for five years, then I got a job in benefits administration for two and a half years. My father got sick and I left that job, a really good job, to take care of him. He was a war veteran, so the VA paid me to take care of him. It wasn't much money, but we got by. I did this for 8 years, until he passed away on January 3, of this year. During this time the arthritis in both my knees and right hip worsened. I could not stand up for an hour now, let alone a full shift. I am still grieving and I believe I am in depression. Then this virus hit! Thankfully, God led my family and I to a house in the country, with neighbours few and far between. Our old house in town would have been terrible during all this. I truly believe that God has his hand on all of us. He putting us where we are for a reason. You just have to have faith in his plan. The reason will be revealed at a later time.
  10. signet

    Intubation shield

    signet posted a topic in COVID

    There was a story on my local news about a High school shop teacher who worked with a local glass company to build intubation shields. Two of these were given to the local hospital in Honesdale Pa. It is simply half a box made of plexiglass that fits around the head of the patients bed. There are two holes where the Dr puts their arms through. They can look through the plexiglass to see as they intubate the patient. This protects them from secretions. This seems like a great idea. The story is on www.wnep.com
  11. signet

    Diy ventilator

    signet posted a topic in COVID

    I have found an open source design for a positive pressure ventilator, that can be built in a home work shop or garage, using readily available components. The link is www.panvent.blogspot.com. There is a video that shows it works. It is a last resort, desperate measure, but isn't something better than nothing? These could be produced FAST.
  12. signet

    Negative pressure ventilator

    signet posted a topic in Pulmonary

    I would like to ask a question, that has been troubling me. I keep hearing about the shortage of ventilators during this terrible time. They are trying desperately to provide more of them, but they are not easily manufactured. These are modern high tech positive pressure ventilators. Of course they need to do everything possible to acquire more of these modern ventilators. If this is not possible in a timely manner, couldn't something else serve as a bridge. What about a modern day version of the iron lung? It's been tested extensively and it's a much simpler machine. It should be easier to manufacture, especially by companies who have never done this before. They were building them back in the 1920's, surely we could do it easier with today's technology. They could be made of plexiglass, instead of iron. My question to those who work with ventilators, is would this work? Could Covid19 patients be ventilated using negative pressure devices? This would mean putting them in an airtight container with their head outside the box. Then the pressure around the body is changed causing the lungs to inflate and deflate. This seems like a reasonable option, given the dire situation. What do you think?
  13. signet

    End of Life for Greek Orthodox

    signet replied to trauma_lama's topic in Nursing

    I belong to a Ukranian Greek orthodox Catholic church. I started going to church again last year after a 20 year hiatus. There are many things I don't know, but here are a few I've picked up on. People who are dead are referred to as "fallen asleep in our Lord.' Presumably, when Jesus comes back, he will wake them all up. The funeral service is called Parastas(This may be a Russian or Greek word). A sick person is anointed with the last rights by a priest. I did attend afuneral earlier this year for our neighbor. It was similiar to a Roamn Catholic funeral, with the exception of incense. They use so much incense, you almost walk out of church with a buzz. They also have another service fourty days after the funeral. If your interested in Greek/Russian orthodox weddings, rent the movie,"The Deer Hunter",1978. It's got Robert DeNiro and Merryl Streep. A great movie. The town they live in is very similiar to mine.
  14. signet
    I think your size has nothing to do with the quality of nursing care you can provide. Your confidence, however may be an issue. Your post comes across almost as though you are ashamed of being a plus size women. It also seems like your apologizing for it. DON'T. God made you who you are for a reason. You sound like a BBW(Big Beautiful Woman). Google this term and you will see that not everybody buys into the main stream media crap that says you have to be a certain size. At the same time, every other commercial they show is for fast food. The whole thing is designed to take your money and keep you on a self hating roller coaster. If you are a good nurse tell them that. If you don't need benefits, because your husband gets them, tell them that. This would make you less expensive to hire. Don't tell them anything about your weight or appearance. This will show how insecure you feel and if hired they will dump on you every chance they get. You are a competent nurse with very valuable skills. You would be an asset to their facility and they are luckily you're available. I'm so sick of people being made to feel inferior because of their size. If this was done on the basis of race, religion, sex, ect..., they'd be marching on washington. It's time for the larger sized people to get the same respect as everyone else.
  15. signet

    Disrespected daily by residents

    signet replied to b.randolph's topic in Relations

    Reading this thread made me think of the first nursing home I worked in after getting my license. I was passing meds and getting to know the residents when one nice little old lady chatted with me. During the conversation she asked my name and if I was Russian. I told her yes, my grandparents came over from Ukraine in the early 1900's. The next day I found out how NICE she really was. She kept following me around calling me names. "watch out, he's a Russian. Communist, Crazy Russian. Don't take those pills they're poison. Red Russian B*st*rd." I could go on and on with all the things she said. It really was bad having her doing this all day, while I was trying to pass meds. I would have the Cna's take her to the dining room early. She would sneak out and find her way back to me. "This is the United States of America" she'd tell me, "go back to Russia." After about three weeks of this, she punched another resident in the face. She had a fixation on this resident also. She called her a "Whore and would tell her to,"go shake your *ss someplace else." They moved her to the first floor after this incident. This solved my problem. Months later I went down to the first floor to borrow some stock med. She saw me and started yelling,"Russian", ect.. They called later and said they had to give her ativan because she was so agitated. Everybody laughed about it, but it really hurts when you're on the receiving end of the hatred. Try not to let it get to you, though this is easier said then done. Some of these people are mildly demented and take great joy in hurting others. If they see it upsets you, they will do it all the more
  16. signet

    Getting overpaid. Should I tell payroll?

    signet replied to HardworkeRN1234's topic in Nursing

    Before I went to nursing school, I worked in a furniture factory. When they went under I was able to go to school paid for by the government. The husband of a lady my wife works with also worked for this company. He quit a few years earlier. When he quit they sent him a check for what he had in his retirement. The check was for $50,000 more than what they owed him. He kept his mouth shut until they relized their error over a year later. They wanted him to pay back the money, but they had no legal recourse other than to sue him and go through a long drawn out legal battle. His lawyer told him he committed no crime by cashing the check. He said he didn't have the money and agreed to pay it back in installments interest free over 10 years. He made payments for about a year and a half when they filed for bankruptcy and closed. This was due to the executives looting the company for themselves. He never paid back any more money. When the company went down, they didn't care about all of the other employess who lost their retirement, vacation pay, sick time, ect... They owed me $1000. I always felt glad that at least this guy got one over on them. If I were you, I would put the money in the bank. If they notice their mistake, then I would pay it back. If not, then it's their fault. Big companies have no sympathy for the little person, why have sympathy for them.