Staff eating with residents

Specialties Geriatric

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:uhoh3: How are CNA supper breaks scheduled in other facilities? At mine, residents supper is from 5p-6p. After their meal, residents then want to be toileted, changed, put to bed etc..... Many alarms sound and falls happen. CNA 30 minute supper breaks start at 6 pm so typically the units are running with less staff at this crunch time. Changing CNA supper time would impact the kitchen staff since most CNA's opt to buy their meal from the facility and kitchen staff need to punch out by 8 pm. Have any facilities tried having CNA's eat their meal with the residents and then take their actual breaks later in the shift? If so, how does this work out? How does staff, residents and their families feel about this? Are their infection control issues? Any input/ ideas appreciated.

The staff does get their own break! Away from those "icky" residents.

They can choose to dine with the residents, if they wish. This is on the clock, not a break.

geez.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
The staff does get their own break! Away from those "icky" residents.

They can choose to dine with the residents, if they wish. This is on the clock, not a break.

geez.

Like I said, I've got a bridge to sell to anyone who believes that management will make sure the staff who "opt out" get their half-hour break. In twenty years o being a nurse, I have lost count how many times namagers have come up with similar "wonderful" ideas that were a complete detriment to those who actually had to deal with their "vision."

The only person who called the residents "icky" was you. Don't put inflammatory words in another person's mouth.

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Specializes in Day Surgery/Infusion/ED.
I respectfully disagree. I do not believe the "home" atmosphrere is appropriate for all levels of long term care.

I think you must have either a much stronger stomach than I, or you have not worked shoulder to shoulder with the kinds of residents I have, the ones picking their noses, hands down their attends, playing in their excretement, not to mention the infections. MRSA of the urinary and respiratory tracts ect. I have seen a confused resident soil themselves, then begin to play in their attend before the aid could get them to the bathroom. It was neither the Aids fault, mine nor the resident's fault for having loose bm that afternoon.

I see several flaws in the vision that you presented. Not the least of which is the burnout rate that would and does occur when staff has to be constantly in the prescence of the residents. Not being able to escape for that half an hour is akin to torture when you are having a bad day.

FWIW, I completely understand and agree with your POV.

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Specializes in Long Term Care.
The staff does get their own break! Away from those "icky" residents.

They can choose to dine with the residents, if they wish. This is on the clock, not a break.

geez.

There is absolutely no reason to be nasty or disrespectful just because I disagree with what you and another poster had to say, and find eating my meal with the residents distasteful. It is hard to put the images aside once you have seen it.

You said have the aids and nurses take their meal with the residents as a way to increase intakes for some residents. Our aids sit with the residents during meal times and it is all we can do to get some residents to eat even a few bites.

I view taking a meal with the residents as an infection control issue b/c I would be putting myself and potentially my family at risk for picking up something that I might otherwise avoid.

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I do understand your feelings on these issues. And I respect your opinion. However, its not just the issue of staff eating with our residents. Its having the time and opportunity to do normal everyday things (even if they are unable to physically participate) just to have normal things taking place around them. Instead of the institutional hallways and med carts and treatment carts, there can be living rooms and actual kitchens. We can sit around a table together as a family sharing a meal or baking cookies together, doing laundry. I'm not talking about one CNA having a long hallway of 25 resident struggling to just meet their most basic needs and being expected to "scarf" down a meal while feeding 4 residents or trying to bake cookies in between toileting those 25 residents with call lights alarming in the background.

I have spent the past 14 years working in one nursing home or another. Some are better than others but they are all falling short. The staff is stressed, overworked, and underpaid. If they are not so burned out that they no longer care, then they go home from work everyday feeling frustrated and inadequate because they were not able to adequately care for their residents. As employees of Long term care, we live with the negative opinion that almost everyone has about us and the work we do. Thats not even mentioning the residents themselves and what their lives are like. I would just recommend everyone who works in the long term care industry become familiar with cultural change. Take a look at different programs such as the pioneer network, eden alternative, and the greenhouse project. Let's be open to change, the current system obviously isn't working. We, as caregivers, should be at the frontline yelling the loudest for change.

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I have worked as a nurse in LTC for 24 years. Before that, as a CNA during high school and before that, I worked in dietary, also in a LTC facility. While I have worked in a couple other areas as well (med/surg, hospice), my heart has always been with the elderly. It is exciting to see some of the changes with Culture Change. Our facility has a weekly buffet at which time staff can choose whether or not they want to eat with the residents. If they do, it is free. They also get their break on their own, off the clock. I feel we need to be open minded & see what works & what doesn't. Personally, while I have eaten with some of the residents, I prefer not to, most of the time, for infection control purposes. I think we also need to be careful about people getting rich because of Culture Change ideas. You don't have to be Eden Certifide in order to embrace Culture change. Pioneer Network is doing some wonderful things. I look forward to the day when the public does not look down on people who choose to work in this field and the elders as well as those who care for them get the respect they deserve. I don't see the Baby Boomers as having it any other way.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I don't think there is an infection control problem with staff eating with residents...as long as the residents don't feed the staff!!! But, I can't see this warm fuzzy model working in this state. We have too many regulations to try to meet now without adding more and more ways for the state to find fault....cooking with the residents??? The surveyors would have a field day.

And, I have many short term residents who do NOT think of this as home. They do their rehab and want to get OUT...they would no more think of dining with the staff and other residents than they would think about having dinner with a bunch of strangers at a restaurant.

Spend money all you want, but I'd rather have the money go to staff salaries to attract and keep qualified nurses and CNAs.

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Where do your short term residents dine, if not with other residents? (sorry to get off subject, just curious).

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There is absolutely no reason to be nasty or disrespectful just because I disagree with what you and another poster had to say, and find eating my meal with the residents distasteful. It is hard to put the images aside once you have seen it.

I was not attempting to be nasty. I guess I don't think of eating with my residents the way that you do, that's all. I apologize for sounding disrespectful.

To each his own......

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Where I work we have supper from 5:30 to 6pm then clear till like 6:15. The NA's have their suppers from 6:30-7pm and 7pm to 7:30pm At times it can get a little hectic with half the staff gone at these times.. but overall has worked out well.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.
Where do your short term residents dine, if not with other residents? (sorry to get off subject, just curious).

Most of them prefer to eat in their rooms. I have been told more than once that they don't care to eat with "old,sick people who drool"...I respect their wishes but I really would like to say "there but for the grace of God go I".

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We are fortunate to have several dining areas so that we are able to group like-mannered residents together!;)

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