Throw it on the floor?!

Its okay to throw it on the floor....BUT this is NOT protocol!!!! its okay to do thing quick. As a CNA you have to take shortcuts...BUT you better know whats right if it comes down to it

When I was a CNA/PCT each garbage can had a roll at the bottom...like underneath the bag that was being used. So when the garbage was changed, poof, there was a roll of garbage bags waiting. And if it wasn't a roll, it was a handful of bags that had been pulled off the roll.[/quote']

Yea, every room should have a roll of plastic bags in the trash can. Your facility doesn't do this:confused::confused:

Maybe her housekeeper is lousy. After a day off I always know who the housekeeper was the day before because there are no rolls of bags to be found anywhere.

My name is Dondie and I throw dirty linens on the floor anytime the opportunity is available. :)

We don't have rolls of trash bags in our cans. I wish we did, Ive seen it done that way and it's sooo nice. I probably wouldn't throw my linens on the floor if I had a place to put them besides the residents bed or the bedside table. I think it's disgusting. I wouldn't want it on my bed or kitchen table.

I heard the other day about using pillow cases to carry linens. Sounds like a good idea to me. I've been trying to be more "green" so using a trash bag once to carry linens seems like a waste to me. One of our aides got in trouble for doing the balancing act on the trash can because something might accidently get thrown away.

Dondie

I know, right? Who wants gross linens on their bed or the table they eat from? I never understood that.

As for something potentially getting thrown away... my name is FuzzyWuzzy and not only do I drop linens on the floor, but I THROW WASHCLOTHS AWAY from time to time :) Sometimes they are just too full of crap to keep.

Now that brings up another question. All of the aides tell me I cannot use washrags to wipe residents. They tell me to use wipes instead. Our wipes are folded into little squares and must be unfolded and then wet before using. I can wet a washrag in much less time, and it does a better job. Why can't I use a washrag?

You could use washrags. I just don't like to when wipes are available. I always think to myself, "Would you want something that has been rubbed all over someone's poopy orifice to be used to wash your face and mouth?" It makes me shudder. :)

What I usually do, is if I am changing a brief I roll it up inside the pad that they were laying on. I roll out the whole soiled pad and put it on the floor rolled up. That way yes it is on the floor, but the clean side of the pad is all that is exposed. I wait until I get to the utility room to sort things out. When I'm changing a bed I do the same thing... I mean it is all dirty, right? And your changing it. So if you roll all the dirty things into one sheet and sort it out later you only have one thing to worry about rather than 7 or 8. I think it is really what is easier for each individual. It took me awhile to learn what was easiest for me. :)

I used a bedpad on the wheelchair to place dirty linens If I needed extra space. I've put a bed pad at the foot of the bed to put the dirty linens on. When I worked in a SNF, we had no plastic bags, but we had plenty of pads. If I was short on pads, then a bath sheet would suffice.

Use the wheel chair folks, once the person is out of it, it serves as a place to put stuff, it has to be cleaned anyhow, and there is usually a pad there anyhow.

As far as pt ratio goes, yep, let them work 20:1 and see if they could do this job.

Duh! Use the wheelchair! There goes my light bulb! Lol!

Getting the dirties down the hall is a big 'ol issue too. We have a barrel that we can wheel down, but it takes forever to go get it, use it, and haul it back. Honestly, Im not lazy, but who has the time.

Something I just figured out that saves some time, is bring the linen cart and barrel room to room. I make beds as I get the residents up so I don't have to later. That's been a huge help. I also keep a trash bag on the side for used gloves, trash, etc.

Roll it all up in the pad and then sort it in the hall at the hopper!

Use the wheelchair!

Thank you both so much!! Now it makes sense.

You guys have enough bed pads to use a CLEAN one to roll up the dirty linen? I wish I could be that extravagant :) I have 30 people (probably 25 or so incontinent) at night and I'm lucky if we get 5-6 pads each from the last laundry run. You get REAL good at knowing who the heavy wetters are so you can change them before you have to change the bed. Sometimes this means every hour for those folks but it's more of a pain to change the bed 3 times.

I will admit that briefs, pads if that's dirty too, do go on the floor at times. With the dirty side, wipes all rolled up inside. If you do it right, when you roll the whole thing together, you can use the off-side tape ends to hold the dirty one in a bundle. No mess, no fuss. If we have can liners (which is rarely these days), the bundles go in that before the barrel. But if you've wrapped it all in a neat ball, there really isn't much smell anyway.

At night I start at one end of the hall and take both my cans with me from room to room. I can hang a bag for collecting water pitchers on the dirty linen cart and not make a separate trip for those. What I've done a few times is get one of the bigger wheelchairs and put a towel down and load it up with all my 'extras' for the night... gowns, pads (if there are any), bottom sheets, washcloths for get ups, a package of wipes and a periwash bottle. Then I drag that chair with me down the halls and don't have to run for stuff all the time.

So do you all notice this??? It always seem that when I find someone with a big messy BM, there are NO wipes or spray anywhere in that room?! And to go running to the storage room risks a bigger mess because that resident will now paint with the mess, now that they know it's there. So I keep a full package on my cart ALL the time. I don't know how many times that's saved me a bed change!