2 of our residents are on Hospice and are taking morphine and 1 just came back from Puerto Rico. I'm a little concerned about their condition...we have called on call who are 2 lvn nurses and yet our sick residents are still here. What should I do?
These residents just need to be quarantined inside their rooms or apartments and have their symptoms monitored. There are (or should be) care plans in place; in other words, what does the POA want to do in case the virus DOES hit the loved one? Do they want her transported to the hospital or to stay at the ALF, in her room, and be tended to by hospice?
Suggestions to call ombudsmen and to call the state and so on make no sense here. It's not that people aren't 'taking things seriously'......this is the residents HOME the ALF! Where should they go? What should they do? All that CAN be done is that they need to be isolated from others. The staff needs to wear PPE when entering their rooms & to observe safety protocols when disposing of the PPEs, etc.
In your case, 2 of the suspect residents are already on hospice, meaning no life saving techniques will be used if they do contract the virus. Being on hospice means they will NOT be taken to the hospital, even if they do have the virus. Please note, however, that many elders do contract fevers and other symptoms that have nothing to do with the covid-19 virus. A fever can clear up on its own within a couple of days and not progress. If no dry cough or other symptoms are present, don't immediately jump to the conclusion that they are infected with covid-19. It's hard, I know......but let cool heads prevail whenever possible.
I posted the other day that three of the nursing homes in my community will offer onsite palliative care, but residents will not be taken to hospital. Appropriate PPE is to be used by all staff.
On the morning news there is a new outbreak in a SNF in Ontario and they too are offering onsite Palliative Care.
CBC is reporting 30 deaths in Ontario nursing homes with reported cases in 26 separate homes. The spread in Bobcaygeon is terrifying, with 13 deaths (one a volunteer) and "24 staff members at the facility have tested positive for the virus and so have three other patients. Testing has not been conducted on another 35 residents experiencing symptoms following the outbreak but they are being treated as if they have the virus".
The facilities have workers and visitors that were sick and were near the residents. Then the outbreaks of the virus started showing up in the facilities.
They have to quarantine the infected individuals as soon as they are diagnosed and anyone who has been exposed to them.
It’s hard watching this virus attack everyone. Be safe and stay home!
Are you calling the Hospice Nurse and telling her two patients have fevers. These residents are their responsibility. Don't you have an RN in charge? A DON. I am assuming LNN stands for a licenced practical nurse. They should be concerned. You may be risking your job, but if you can't get anywhere with those above you, call your County Health Dept. I doubt if the residents would survive the virus but they should be quarantined and everyone tested.
I would think there are protocols for this type of thing. My state has had a couple of confirmed cases inside assisted living facilities. I'm not sure what the requirements are for testing of those who are symptomatic. I would think it might be different for those in a LTC facility.
What staff "should" be doing doesn't always resemble what they actually "are" doing.
When my mom was in her first long term care home they had an outbreak of respiratory illness (I wasn't told exactly what). I had a chance to observe how seriously staff took the mandated protocols - signs and PPE (masks, gloves and gowns) were placed by the door of infected residents, but as soon as management left for the day and on the weekend nobody bothered using it. I've been hearing of people coming to work who "had a sore throat yesterday, but I'm okay" or who have themselves or live in close contact with people who have travelled for March break but feel the quarantine mandates don't apply to them. This is NOT the time to turn a blind eye to this kind of thing.
Yeah, that’s scary. People need advocates. We are experiencing cluster outbreaks of the virus in our facilities.
I agree with the no visitor’s policy in the facilities. We have selfish people here in Louisiana who aren’t listening to the mandatory lockdown laws.
There is a Pentecostal church still holding services with hundreds of people! The governor warned this Pastor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He didn’t listen! So they arrested him. Good, I am glad that he was arrested!
No one should feel like they can do as they please and be above the law. What if they went into a nursing home after their church service? They could infect others if they were carriers.
They cannot kick these people out of their homes. Where would they go, and in the course of going, expose how many more? What they should be doing is isolating those with symptoms. The two on hospice? Aren't they already isolated?
All should be adhering to national CDC guidelines for healthcare workers and use of personal protective equipment.
Too many people are not taking this seriously, once this virus gets into a facility it spreads to both residents and staff like wildfire. Call the regulatory body in your state and tell them.
Suggestions to call ombudsmen and to call the state and so on make no sense here. It's not that people aren't 'taking things seriously'......this is the residents HOME the ALF! Where should they go? What should they do? All that CAN be done is that they need to be isolated from others. The staff needs to wear PPE when entering their rooms & to observe safety protocols when disposing of the PPEs, etc.
In your case, 2 of the suspect residents are already on hospice, meaning no life saving techniques will be used if they do contract the virus. Being on hospice means they will NOT be taken to the hospital, even if they do have the virus. Please note, however, that many elders do contract fevers and other symptoms that have nothing to do with the covid-19 virus. A fever can clear up on its own within a couple of days and not progress. If no dry cough or other symptoms are present, don't immediately jump to the conclusion that they are infected with covid-19. It's hard, I know......but let cool heads prevail whenever possible.
Wishing you the best of luck moving forward.
On the morning news there is a new outbreak in a SNF in Ontario and they too are offering onsite Palliative Care.
They have to quarantine the infected individuals as soon as they are diagnosed and anyone who has been exposed to them.
It’s hard watching this virus attack everyone. Be safe and stay home!
When my mom was in her first long term care home they had an outbreak of respiratory illness (I wasn't told exactly what). I had a chance to observe how seriously staff took the mandated protocols - signs and PPE (masks, gloves and gowns) were placed by the door of infected residents, but as soon as management left for the day and on the weekend nobody bothered using it. I've been hearing of people coming to work who "had a sore throat yesterday, but I'm okay" or who have themselves or live in close contact with people who have travelled for March break but feel the quarantine mandates don't apply to them. This is NOT the time to turn a blind eye to this kind of thing.
I agree with the no visitor’s policy in the facilities. We have selfish people here in Louisiana who aren’t listening to the mandatory lockdown laws.
There is a Pentecostal church still holding services with hundreds of people! The governor warned this Pastor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He didn’t listen! So they arrested him. Good, I am glad that he was arrested!
No one should feel like they can do as they please and be above the law. What if they went into a nursing home after their church service? They could infect others if they were carriers.
All should be adhering to national CDC guidelines for healthcare workers and use of personal protective equipment.
I don’t know if you have to do anything. I am so sorry that the residents are having these health issues.
Be safe and take care 💗.