Residents Thoughts on Aging in Long Term Care Facilities
We want our public officials to know how we feel as a person living in a long term care facility such as a nursing home, assisted living, boarding home or any other kind of setting where we are depending on the services of others to meet our basic and/or more complex physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs. We believe it is critical that we live in an environment that allows each of us to maintain our autonomy in such a way that "it allows me to be me". We deserve no less.
It is important that public officials understand that many elders will be living the remainder of their lives in these settings. There also are younger, disabled citizens who may also require long term care for the remainder of their lives in these settings. Regardless of our age or level of debility, we want to be heard and understood. There is more to life than a roof, bed, and food. What about our likes? Dislikes? What about being recognized as a person with individual needs and preferences? Choice is critical to our well being: choice of living environment, care regimen, caregivers, daily routines, recreation, church; all those aspects of life that contribute to the well being of all of our citizens.
In order for these basic considerations to be addressed, it is absolutely necessary that, at a minimum, all elder and disabled citizens be recognized as valuable, contributing members of society. In order to achieve this, it is crucial that there be:
Adequate numbers of well trained, paid caregivers who are our lifeline to a quality, dignified life for the remainder of our years.
Why is staffing so important to us?
Our quality of life and care is totally dependent on having sufficient numbers of able, well-trained caregivers with sufficient time and energy to provide the most personal and private care we require. It takes time to provide quality individualized care, especially if it is complex. Currently, Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) have too heavy a caseload. There are just not enough staff to care for our very basic needs such as toileting, bathing, dressing, eating, exercise.
It Takes Time To Care:
• To answer call lights in a timely way when we need help with such critical needs as toileting and pain relief;
• To be attentive to special needs such as breathing exercises, assisting with transfers from bed to wheel chair;
• To provide for our safety such as making sure we are properly positioned in our chair or bed;
• To care for each person as a unique being with special needs;
• To provide a listening, caring, compassionate response to our needs.
CONTINUITY OF CARE requires adequate numbers of healthy, compassionate and caring staff who show up from shift to shift:
• So that we can count on care we need during all times of the day;
• So that we don't have to constantly retrain or orient staff to our unique needs;
• So that staff learn about the personal care needs we might have regardless of the time of day such as pain management, toileting preferences;
• So that more efficient care can be provided when staff know their residents and how to serve them.
Adequate Numbers Of Well-Paid Qualified Staff Prevents:
• Staff burnout; staff absenteeism; staff turnover;
• Disruption of the team work required to provide care;
• Staff showing up even though they might be ill;
• Disruption of daily schedule for restorative care, for bathing, toileting, cleanliness, eating, getting about to activities;
• Inefficient, poor quality care which is very costly, both in loss of time and lack of care;
• Provides staff with the time they need to do a good job.
A LIVING WAGE AND ADEQUATE TRAINING provide caregivers with a peace of mind so that they can:
• Have the energy to provide the most intimate, personal care we require without worry of their own unmet personal needs such as bills, housing, groceries, childcare, health, transportation and other aspects of life needed to be a contributing citizen in our community;
• Be recognized as a valued member of the health team;
• Only work at one job rather than multiple jobs to make ends meet.
TRANSPORTATION is another issue critical for maintaining our quality of life and allows us to continue to participate in the community as aging and disabled persons.
Why is transportation important?
In order to keep connected with our community, we need appropriate, affordable transportation so that we can continue to attend/participate in:
• church services;
• social and fraternal clubs/memberships:
• community forums/town halls;
• medical/dental appointments;
• entertaining events such as musical, drama, sports;
• educational sessions;
• financial/banking institutions;
• library;
• governmental agencies;
• managing personal affairs such as hair, foot care, dry cleaning;
• shopping;
• dining out;
• recreational places including parks, athletic clubs.
What kind of transportation do we need?
Our aging and disabled community requires a variety of transportation options appropriate to our various needs, available on a more flexible schedule, seven days a week and more affordable, including:
• Assistance from our families and friends;
• Taxi, transit systems which can serve disabled including wheelchair-bound citizens;
• Van transportation such as DART;
• Facilities need to be better equipped with vans and trained drivers;
• Continuation of voluntary transportation programs such as those provided by Senior Services, Catholic Community Services;
An up-to-date listing of available transportation services, with phone numbers, good description of type of transportation service available and cost/eligibility requirements.
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