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“It’s quite an amazing thing,” said Heath
Heffernan, who is also a registered nurse at the Jasper long-term care home,
in an interview earlier this year.
The woman now eats in the activity room, mingles with others and asks staff
about her co-residents’ well-being. “This person was really
quite a recluse. I can’t believe she’s in the dining room amongst
other residents, calling her family and calling staff by name.”
What has worked is a consistent approach to interaction with her, Heath
says. He has learned giving her space and the “run of the place”
creates results. When staff members tell her it’s time for dinner
and she’s not interested in joining the others, they don’t push.
The worst thing they could do is touch her arm and inform her she has to
leave her room for the meal, Heath says. “You can’t force the
issues with her, we’ve realized that,” Heath says.
At Springdale Country Manor, staff also came to realize pushing a particular
resident to be compliant with the home’s routines wasn’t beneficial.
For approximately 18 months, staff at the Springville home encouraged a
resident to eat her meals with the others, join in on activities and rise
from bed at an early hour.
However, convincing the woman, who was an alcoholic, a night hawk and late
riser prior to moving into long-term care, to change her life around wasn’t
easy. So, staff stopped trying.
“We were forcing her to be compliant with our routines without really
acknowledging that this is how she lived her life,” said Maureen Imamovic,
a registered nurse at Springdale, in an earlier interview.
Staff didn’t particularly agree with her routine that involved sleeping
until 4 p.m. every day and a quality of life defined by smoking cigarettes.
But it wasn’t their life to live, says Maureen.
They allowed her to sleep in until 4 p.m. each day. They didn’t force
her to attend activities as she had no interest in being with people much
older than her.
Housekeeping staff quietly cleaned her room while she slept and dietary
staff saved each meal for her so she could dine between 4 p.m. and 4 a.m.
“Night staff becomes her activation,” says Maureen. Staff has
also made an effort to chat with her since she doesn’t have companionship
from other residents.
As a result, while the resident may be still clad in pajamas at 5 p.m.,
she’s less disruptive and no longer aggressive with staff. She also
no longer requires anti-psychotic medication and her blood sugar is stable.
“We had to allow ourselves to care for her without judging her,”
Maureen adds.
During the recent road trip, Fraser was thrilled to see employees who work
in departments not naturally associated with supportive measures involved.
For example, at Village Green, Jane Hughes serves as office manager, environmental
services manager and supportive measures specialist.
In the past, the OMNIway has shared stories of laundry aides picking up
on resident’s cues and dietary aides going the extra mile to improve
quality of life. “It’s truly breaking down those silos and departmental
barriers,” says Fraser.
Perhaps what he was most excited about during the trip was how employees’
contributions have potential to change the general view of long-term care.
“It’s about changing the perception people come to long-term
care to die.” People are instead being given the opportunity to live
life to their fullest potential, he says.
“Our question, always,” says Fraser, in an earlier interview,
“is to see if there’s a better way to extend the quality of
life. Staff, on so many occasions, are helping residents get their mobility,
dignity and independence back.”
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| In an effort to bring
you independent news about the OMNI community, this
story was prepared by a third party news provider,
Axiom
News Services. It has not been subject
to prior editorial approval by OMNI Health Care. |
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'We were forcing her to be
compliant with our routines without really acknowledging that this is
how she lived her life'
--Maureen Imamovic, registered nurse, Springdale
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