Question about Assisted Living

[jaelpn, LPN]

Does anyone here work in Assisted Living? We specialize in alzheimers/dementia. I was just wondering if any of you have a crash cart... or if it's legal to get away with not having any sort of AED?

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

I work an ALF also and I wonder about the same thing even though most residents are dnr. I'm interested to know the answer.

[Medsport, LPN]

I work in assisted living too and they don't have an AED either. They are private, so the rules may be different. Most of the residents are DDR too, but there are some full codes. I kind of worried about the full codes for awhile (what all you had to do), but after almost a year, there has'nt been anybody that coded yet. Most of the time we just found them already expired or they sometimes get hospice if they are going downhill. I believe all we have to do is CPR if we find somebody having breathing difficulties. I still have never done one on a real person yet...

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Medsport if you find some one who is not a dnr and appears to have expired you are still supposed to do cpr.

[Medsport, LPN]

really? for how long, until the paramedic gets there or you get ahold of the doctor?

[NurseyPoo7]

Every ALF I've worked in hasn't had a code cart or even an AED I think.

The most "emergency" med we have had is Glucagon

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

You do cpr until the ems get there. A nurse was fired at my job for finding a resident that appeared to expired and she did Nothing, even though the resident was a full code. I'm sure this was reported to the state and bon as well.

[1stloveistobeanurse]

I was an asst director for an ALF, and I believe the reason why is ALF are really retirement homes that provide assistance when needed.

So they are not mandated by the same restrictions as a nursing home and the feel is suppose to be more of a home like setting.

[Jivane]

I work in assisted living with a disabled adults population. The facility is private, and does not accept 'high risk' clients. We pass medications several times a day, but do no have any kind of crash cart/AED system. However, all of our people live in groups of three in the community; they just have staff and nurses posted at their houses 24/7.

[jaelpn, LPN]

Thanks for all the input; it makes me feel a little better. I know that it is assisted living and that it is suppose to be more of a homelike setting- but sometimes I would worry about the residents that ARE a full code; but I guess that is just the way things are. I have performed cpr ONE time... but that was while I was doing my clinicals for my EMT- we were in the ER and a man came in, full code, crashing, and I got to perform bag-valving and chest compressions for seven minutes... I think the Dr. had already declared the man pretty much on his way out, but he was intubated anyways, and the dr let me and my other clinical partner perform cpr.... ugh... the sound of ribs about made me puke! But it was a great experience.... something nursing school never actually taught me! In fact, nursing school didn't really teach us ANYTHING remotely relating to what to do in a real trauma!

[txredheadnurse, BSN, RN]

I would venture to say you don't have a crash cart and/or AED because most ALFs are not required to have all staff CPR certified nor even necessarily have a licensed nurse on premise at all times. A crash cart is of no benefit if you don't have trained, licensed staff to use it available. Plus it is their private home; they pay rent to live there. I know I don't have a crash cart or AED in my home. Remember the ALF is not supposed to be a medical/nursing oriented environment; it is supposed to provide assistance and oversight in a group setting as opposed to individual houses.

[casi, ASN, RN]

I used to work with at an ALF where it was AGAINST policy to do CPR. I don't know how they got away with this or how it was legal to make a policy banning their nurses from providing CPR, but it was there.