My family owns several nursing homes and I worked in them while growing up. It is easy to see how this happened. You have to remember that most of the food service workers in a nursing home are either teenagers and/or people that can\’t find a better job.
People have such bad attitudes about nursing homes, but they are required to lodge, feed, entertain, medicate, launder & care for people for less than what it would cost to stay in a hotel.
The employees in most nursing homes are the lowest common denominator. I don\’t know of many people who say, \”when I grow up I am going to help wipe old people\’s butts\”.
This reminds me of an incident that occurred when my mother was a resident of a nursing home in Milwaukee County, also. She was supposed to have soft food because of a swallowing disorder. One day the evening meal included the snack food \’cheetos\’. When I complained, no one could give me a good answer. The nurse said that the kitchen was \’shorthanded\’. It was not unusual for my mother\’s meals to include foods that had to be further reduced to make small enough pieces for her to eat. The nurse had to help (the kitchen staff) with the meals on more than one occasion.
A Sprowls
While I agree with \”ME\” in regard to the type of people who normally staff nursing facility kitchens, I do not agree that this should be regarded as a \”simple screwup\”.
Even though nursing home kitchens and dietary staff typically have a very high turn-over and these employees are not typically those with the best skill-set, the VERY IMPORTANT aspects of and the necessities of the specialized and perscribed diets are something that should be addressed in TRAINING these people.
I\’ve watched too many completely untrained kids off the street get placed right on the line serving the food for these diets, having absolutely no clue as to the importance of getting it right or WHY the diets are prescribed in the first place.
I\’ve found that most of the time, once the dietary staff is TRAINED properly and the training is reinforced, then they get it right and show some care in preparation.
This case stems from simple carelessness and responsibility lays with the facility for not taking the proper precautions.
So sad…. I just hope I don\’t end up in one of these homes when I get elderly…
I didn\’t mean to demean the seriousness of the event or the death. I merely meant to show that this can easily happen and I am surprised we don\’t see that kind of stuff occurring.
Training will help with the issue, but the number one issue is that the employees need to care about the elderly residents they are working for. I myself felt like I had 100 grandma\’s & grandpas while I was at the nursing home. It was so cool hearing their stories. Many also had no relationship with their children anymore, so they were as delighted to spend time with me as I was with them. I was pallbearer in several funerals for residents, merely because I took the time know and love these people that had so much to offer.
The nursing home and asst care living have problems with hiring enough intelligent staff and paying them a good salary. A 90 year old lady died and most likely the owners & their attorneys figured.. she\’s 90 what can you expect ? Many the big wigs at facilities don\’t think of the residents as people. The fine should have been stiffer. That company will set up their sloppy nursing homes somewhere else.
I agree 100%. Until we start paying a competitive wage to people who work in these facilities, we will continue to get the lowest common denominator working there.
Yes, there are a lot of corporate nursing homes that are only in it for the money. My father worked at a couple of them before the family business. It IS possible to make money AND care deeply and effectively for your residents. It isn\’t as much money as the \”old people farms\” the corporate behemoths run, but it is enough to be successful. You do not have to sacrifice the dignity nor health of the residents. You have to make intelligent hiring decisions and treat your employees like you want them to treat the residents.
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My family owns several nursing homes and I worked in them while growing up. It is easy to see how this happened. You have to remember that most of the food service workers in a nursing home are either teenagers and/or people that can\’t find a better job.
People have such bad attitudes about nursing homes, but they are required to lodge, feed, entertain, medicate, launder & care for people for less than what it would cost to stay in a hotel.
The employees in most nursing homes are the lowest common denominator. I don\’t know of many people who say, \”when I grow up I am going to help wipe old people\’s butts\”.
This reminds me of an incident that occurred when my mother was a resident of a nursing home in Milwaukee County, also. She was supposed to have soft food because of a swallowing disorder. One day the evening meal included the snack food \’cheetos\’. When I complained, no one could give me a good answer. The nurse said that the kitchen was \’shorthanded\’. It was not unusual for my mother\’s meals to include foods that had to be further reduced to make small enough pieces for her to eat. The nurse had to help (the kitchen staff) with the meals on more than one occasion.
A Sprowls
While I agree with \”ME\” in regard to the type of people who normally staff nursing facility kitchens, I do not agree that this should be regarded as a \”simple screwup\”.
Even though nursing home kitchens and dietary staff typically have a very high turn-over and these employees are not typically those with the best skill-set, the VERY IMPORTANT aspects of and the necessities of the specialized and perscribed diets are something that should be addressed in TRAINING these people.
I\’ve watched too many completely untrained kids off the street get placed right on the line serving the food for these diets, having absolutely no clue as to the importance of getting it right or WHY the diets are prescribed in the first place.
I\’ve found that most of the time, once the dietary staff is TRAINED properly and the training is reinforced, then they get it right and show some care in preparation.
This case stems from simple carelessness and responsibility lays with the facility for not taking the proper precautions.
So sad…. I just hope I don\’t end up in one of these homes when I get elderly…
I didn\’t mean to demean the seriousness of the event or the death. I merely meant to show that this can easily happen and I am surprised we don\’t see that kind of stuff occurring.
Training will help with the issue, but the number one issue is that the employees need to care about the elderly residents they are working for. I myself felt like I had 100 grandma\’s & grandpas while I was at the nursing home. It was so cool hearing their stories. Many also had no relationship with their children anymore, so they were as delighted to spend time with me as I was with them. I was pallbearer in several funerals for residents, merely because I took the time know and love these people that had so much to offer.
The nursing home and asst care living have problems with hiring enough intelligent staff and paying them a good salary. A 90 year old lady died and most likely the owners & their attorneys figured.. she\’s 90 what can you expect ? Many the big wigs at facilities don\’t think of the residents as people. The fine should have been stiffer. That company will set up their sloppy nursing homes somewhere else.
I agree 100%. Until we start paying a competitive wage to people who work in these facilities, we will continue to get the lowest common denominator working there.
Yes, there are a lot of corporate nursing homes that are only in it for the money. My father worked at a couple of them before the family business. It IS possible to make money AND care deeply and effectively for your residents. It isn\’t as much money as the \”old people farms\” the corporate behemoths run, but it is enough to be successful. You do not have to sacrifice the dignity nor health of the residents. You have to make intelligent hiring decisions and treat your employees like you want them to treat the residents.
ME – Amen! I agree totally!!!!
Thank you for sharing your experience!