To all LTC and ALF staff: Thank you

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

inspired by the "how many of you would like to say this?" thread, here is my input:

kudos to all the staff of the ltc and alfs where my mother-in-law and my mother now reside. you all do an amazing job, and i know that i couldn't keep up with you. to the nurses who make sure mom gets to her doctor's appointments and gets all of her meds as scheduled, thank you. i've taken my mother to the doctor; i know what a job it is. thank you so much! to the med techs who give her her pills, discuss with her whether she's really taken them today or not, and encourage her to "just finish that one last pill", thank you. i've tried to give mom her pills. you do it with so much more ease.

to the cnas who help her shower and get dressed when she insists that she doesn't need a shower, that she can do it herself, or that she'll do it later, thank you. i gave up on that struggle when i was caring for mom -- if she wanted to shower she did, and if she didn't, she smelled.

to everyone who listens to mom complain for the millionth time that dad hasn't been to see her in forever, that he won't speak to her and won't even let her have his phone number and hasn't screamed "he's dead dammit" as i once heard my sister do, thank you. you are all awesome.

mom loves you all, and she knows that you all care for her. from the big fat hugs when she needs one to the extra ice cream cone when she's especially blue, it shows. for making sure she gets to church and for sitting there to help her put her puzzle together when i know you have more important things to do, thank you.

i know that you are all taking far better care of my mother -- and my mother-in-law -- than i ever could, and you do it so cheerfully it seems that you actually enjoy it. words cannot express how grateful to all of you i am.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

Rubyvee you are sooooo welcome. To be honest there are times when I get sick and tired of working in LTC. Not because of the residents but because of the politics and dealing with some family members. Its so encouraging to hear someone say thank you or give " that a girl" .

I love my job as a LTC nurse. I go beyond my duty as a nurse and always strive to provide good quality of care. I love taking care of mom and dead. I love giving backrubs. I love using my critical thinking skills to figure out whats going on medically. So yes we love taking care of mom.

[itsmejuli]

Thank you :)

I like being an LTC nurse, I care for my elderly residents as I'd care for my own parents. They are my extended family, parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters. I enjoy when their families tell me about their lives, who they were and what they did before old age or illness took away their minds and/or healthy bodies.

Each weekend I do my best to make those 2 days a pleasant experience for my residents and me. I like when my residents tell me how much they'll miss me until the following weekend.

I make sure that my residents know that I do care about them and that they're not just a room and bed number to be served meds.

And when they die, I do grieve and sometimes cry. But I know that I did my best to make them comfortable in their last months of life.

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Thank You. Just when I wonder why I do what I do..along comes a post like this.

[jjnmrsmom]

Thank you for the wonderul post. My co-workers and I love our residents and it really is a pleasure taking care of them. But it means a lot to be appreciated for what we do.

[highlandlass1592, BSN, RN]

Ruby: you eloquently expressed much needed words of encouragement to many of our brothers and sisters who so often work in difficult situations to provide care for some of our most needing patients. These nurses are truly unsung heroes of our profession. Thank you for thinking of them.

[j621d]

It's so easy to criticize and find fault in others. As I have gotten older I find myself either complimenting the individual (not necessarily nursing). I especially like to go straight to the manager or superviser.

I was with a very large group of people that decended on a restaurant. The server was a gem - not once did we get the feeling that she was overburdened. She made a few minor errors, but corrected them promptly, and always with a smile. As we were leaving I asked to see the manager. They are all too familiar with complaints, so he was quite surprised to hear a compliment. Sometimes it is more effective to go to management so they can hear something positive about the employee. I think it makes a bigger impact. I am confident he shared the compliment with the employee.

[CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN]

Thank you Ruby. I love reading all of your posts!