Chapter 6 - What Doesn't Kill You,

Makes You Crazier

 Excerpt And Video Interview
Click on picture below for video interview

One of the residents was an elderly woman who’d scream at

the top of her lungs whenever anyone touched her.  Like

most of the others on the floor, she was incontinent.  When-

ever her diaper was changed, even though staffers were

gentle with her, you’d think she was being consciously

eviscerated.  Blood-curdling screams would echo through-

out the hallways. Visitors would nervously peak out of the

rooms, probably wondering how and why staffers were

torturing these poor patients.

 

Then, to cut costs, WeCare decided to restrict the use of ex-

pensive adult-size diapers. Only residents who requested

diapers would be provided with them. The workload for

staffers now increased exponentially.  With bodily wastes

no longer easily contained, NAs were forced give repeat bed-baths frequently throughout the shift. We were always short of linens at night.  Imagine never putting a baby in diapers and then imagine that baby weighing 120-220 pounds or more.

 

 

I was getting burnt-out from working in long-term care. Underpaid, overworked NAs were calling out sick and some were quitting. RNs were leaving WeCare to work in hospitals where they would be responsible for eight short-term patients instead of twenty long-term residents. The nursing shortage in long-term care is exponentially worse than it is in hospitals. At least in hospitals, you aren’t forced to work with one hand tied behind your back. You know things are bad when the DON dons scrubs and takes a patient assignment.

 

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