Topics About 'Ltc'.

This year, we got a double whammy: at the same time we were under siege by the norovirus, a nasty little upper-respiratory specimen arrived on the scene that promptly attacked those who hadn't yet contracted the double-ender. So whoever wasn't puking...

Here's some background: graduated nursing school Spring 2020, got a med-surg job at a hospital, was fired after 3 months due to not being able to handle workload, have been unemployed for 3 months now. I received an offer from a LTC facility tod...

She lies in her narrow nursing-home bed with eyes closed and feet elevated on pillows, looking much like the little girl in the faded black-and-white photographs she showed me that first day in her new apartment. In her pink fleecy oversized pajamas ...

What are CNAs? Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are the backbone of long-term care. They are the eyes and ears of the nurse and fill a critical part of the care continuum that you may not think about often enough. According to Rasmussen Colleg...

During this COVID pandemic, my roles in my facility have switched constantly. Prior to COVID, I was a unit manager for a rehab unit. Once COVID hit, they designated me to manage the COVID unit until we no longer received referrals. During this ti...

Take Ed, our resident Oscar the Grouch. He's a World War II vet who also worked as a train conductor; his manner is gruff, and his language is often as colorful as the Oregon Ducks cap he wears. He enjoys nothing more than to wheel himself about the ...

The long term care industry (a.k.a. nursing home industry) employs a large share of new and experienced nurses in the United States. Furthermore, the number of nurses who secure employment in this specialty is projected to increase in the next ten ye...

Not every long-term care nurse chooses LTC as a profession. Sometimes, it chooses us. But no matter how you've arrived at your first job in a nursing facility, there are challenges awaiting you that you didn't anticipate, especially if you're coming ...

Geriatric residents are major fall risks because of forgetfulness and dementia. A syndrome called "Sundowner's" is prevalent when someone is lucid during the daytime hours but as the evening hours progress they act "bonkers". Many a time while respon...

On this particular night my patient, I'll call him Ray, approached the nursing station with his headphones in his ears and his big black glasses on. You know, the kind they give you after you get your pupils dilated. He wore these, with cotton balls ...

There are no guarantees in life. No one came into this world with a guarantee of perfect health and ability until the moment we die. Diseases will happen, accidents will happen; and when they do, we can become disabled to the point that we need someo...

But let's not forget the CNA's; they really work hard and do a great job keeping the residents/patients clean, dry, and happy! I feel my time as a CNA was an important part of my nursing experience and enhanced my career. I started as a CNA at age 22...

Talking to your loved ones about long-term care can be a complex topic to approach. It is natural to feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed when discussing this subject; however, having an honest conversation is essential to ensuring that your loved ones ...

Working in rural areas has its challenges, especially when working in a long term care facility in the middle of nowhere. I was a new RN grad and full of enthusiasm, even though I was in my late thirties. As I scanned the local job listings and word ...

Our local pharmacy supplied all of our residents with their medication and the pharmacist was a grouchy man, who hated anything to do with our nursing home. The pharmacist had a bad habit of only labeling mediation with the resident's last name and f...

You get out of bed, unsteady, dizzy...where am I? How do I get out...must get out, this door that door? A long dim corridor full of brown doors, where are they, where are they?! Someone coming, someone in white, more white.....talking at me. What is ...

Short staffing in nursing homes due to cost-cutting decisions, nurses retiring due to age, or the added stresses of COVID-19, along with increases in patient caseload and complexity have played a pivotal part in the short-staffing crisis. The results...

Nursing homes are finding this new method of bringing residents to a dining room setting to be very effective in managing weight loss. Part of my supervisory responsibilities on a 3-11 shift was to oversee the dining room, assisting anyone in need, a...

Admitting a loved one to long-term care is often a difficult decision. The past few months or years have been a struggle. There have been numerous trips and admissions to the hospital. The aging adult, family, and healthcare team have made the decisi...

Dear Nurse Beth, Three years ago, after having my fourth (surprise!) baby, I decided to take a break from work and focus on my education. I zipped through a BSN program and continued onto an MSN program. I am very close to having my MSN in Nursi...

Just wondering if any other LTC nurse's have any input on guidance in regards to out-of-facility visits for the residents and Covid. It has been said that we can allow out-of-facility visits if they are "low risk" situations, but how are facilities ...

I peek into the night-light lit darkness and she sees me; The plaintive voice whispers, the old wrinkled hand reaches for me. I step in and reach for her fingers brushing the tips with mine. Sitting up slowly She pats the bed next to her moves an inc...

Right now I have three different residents in three different stages in the process of casting off the human shell that has housed their souls for over eight decades. One of them, Allie*, had been in fairly good shape until the night she had a massiv...

Due to Covid 19, many LTCF are placing their residents into social distancing with no visitors allowed. We are a wonderful large gated facility with great staffing and wonderful residents. We have no positive cases. We have independent living, ...

Anyone who works around the demented elderly population can attest to the fact that they sometimes say the darndest things. Mr. Rider is a pseudonym for the slightly plump octogenarian nursing home resident who had some cognitive decline due to vascu...