Archive for the ‘Nursing Home’ Category

Recently, I had a friend tell me about her grandfather who was left outside all day at a facility in the Ocala/Gainesville area. In Florida, it isn’t unusual to experience 100 degree days. Imagine being trapped outside without water, food, or a toilet. Where were the employees to assist him? The bigger question–why was he not missed? Unattended, this poor man suffered as a result of neglect.

There are many types of abuse such as: physical, mental, verbal, sexual, and intellectual/spiritual abuse. Neglect is considered a more passive form of abuse. For example, if your job was to change Mrs. Smith’s depends every evening, and you knowingly decided not to, and as a result she sat in urine for hours, you passively abused the rights of Mrs. Smith.

As with all types of abuse, they can eventually cause severe mental or physical damage. Sometimes the symptoms can be obvious such as a change in personality or physical evidence (i.e., severe bruising). One must be careful in making assumptions too quickly, because false claims could really damage the name of a reputable nursing home.

For example, one facility where I worked the family called the state to do a thorough investigation because their mother’s arms were severely bruised. Afterwards they found out that the bruising was mostly caused from taking her new medication, Coumadin.

If you believe your loved one or someone else is being abused, it is important to investigate it. Nursing homes have social workers, which can act as your advocate. Another option is your local ombudsman, which is unaffiliated with the nursing home. Information to finding the your nursing home ombudsman can be found at the facility.

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For my first “real” entry, I wanted to start off by saying that I am excited to begin this blog. Since I am a newly licensed nursing home administrator (April 2008), I am relatively new to the field of long-term care. I don’t claim to know everything pertaining to this field, but I’m passionate about making a difference. As I gain knowledge, I hope to be fortunate enough to share it with you.

Today I listened to an interesting speaker at our local “Toast and Topics” meeting in Ocala, Florida. One part of his lecture pertained to the importance of having a vision in business. As he pointed out, without a strong vision (specific objectives) of where you are going, it’s hard to meet one’s goals. How could a business meet distinct objectives without planning a way to get there?

For example, if a nursing home administrator wanted to change a hospital-like nursing home to more of a home-like atmosphere, it would take a strong vision to make these changes. Imagine how many people would have to get on board, not only to invest the money, but also to share the same goal. Many of the staff may even disagree with your vision–believing the old way is the “better” way. However, once people begin to share your vision and are willing to make changes, real positive results can be made. Leaving the meeting, I felt energized to begin focusing on my vision. Like he pointed out, without a vision, how do you expect to get where you’re going in life?

To All Nursing Home Residents and Staff: Happy Nursing Home Week!

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Ocala, Florida, nursing home administrator, nursing home, Nursing Home Residents, Nursing Home Week