Latest Episode - ATALFT
Time for another episode of As The Assisted Living Facility Turns.
Wednesday, 1:58 p.m. It was warm on Wednesday in Culver City. I was working the afternoon watch alone, as unlike Sgt. Friday I don't have a partner. The "captain" is our Facility Director, but she had the day off. I'm the President....of the Resident's Advisory Council and it was time for our monthly meeting.
The meeting was called to order with a gentle tap of a closed fist on the table I sat at. When that didn't help, I called the meeting to order verbally, raising my voice to ensure that those who insist on sitting at the back of the room in spite of their difficulties in hearing would pay attention. Eventually we had the room quiet and the first resident was able to talk about their concern.
Which was that the chairs in the dining room are a bit heavy and make a lot of noise when they are dragged. This resident said that they and others had been talking about the idea of having the facility put casters on the legs of these chairs. The President explained patiently that this won't happen, because the dining room has a hard floor and hard floors and chairs with casters are an accident waiting to happen. However he also pointed out that while he knows this to be a fact, he will present the idea to the Facility Director and let her formally reject the notion.
Then another resident asked again about organizing trips around the area for the residents. This suggestion came up last month and was elevated to management. The owners of this facility own the larger, nicer building next door, which happens to have a van. The Facility Director is looking into the possibility of borrowing that van to take residents somewhere. When the President tried to explain this to the resident who wants trips to be organized, they merely repeated their request. At this point, the President was forced to dig into his reservoir of patience, and he responded by asking a question:
"How do you propose we organize a trip when the only vehicle we have access to will seat the driver and three residents, maybe four at best, but there's no way to get four walkers/wheelchairs into the trunk at one time?"
"Couldn't we get one of the vans the Senior Center has?" That's actually not a bad suggestion except that they aren't available on weekdays, and to use one at night or on a weekend involves paying a rental fee and hiring a driver (or paying our driver overtime).
Then the resident who wanted the casters on chairs felt compelled to tell the story of how they managed to fall down in their bathroom when they first moved in, because they didn't realize that the water from the shower would make the floor very slippery. Also, we got to hear about how this happened at six in the morning, but the staff didn't find them on the floor until three hours later.
Next the resident who is very invested in having trips organized asked about the possibility of the facility compiling a list of doctors and dentists for referrals. The President explained that this is not something the facility can do. Doctors who discover they aren't on the list will want to know why. Will doctors be paying to be on the list? How would the facility be ranking doctors, since they aren't a hospital, but an assisted living facility. The explanation of why this would not work took several long minutes.
After the explanation was complete, this resident said "so can we get them to make a list like this?" At this point a number of residents sighed audibly in frustration as the President patiently repeated the entire explantion, a bit more slowly and loudly.
Background is required for this next item that came up. The facility recently completed a major renovation of the building's interior, with new carpets, painting of the walls and ceilings, and the hanging of a number of posters from classic movies. The movie motif of the place is very appropros, given the facility's location adjacent to a major motion picture studio. One of the residents said that the posters hanging on the wall are a danger to the residents and should be removed. A debate ensued regarding whether or not the posters present any danger, and if the simple answer is to bolt them to the wall.
Then a resident who usually has a lot to say at these meetings, but who had said little until now pointed out that many residents miss the old events board that no longer hangs outside the lounge. They want it back. Now this resident has already gone to the Facility Director with this request, and she said she would seek approval from the company that owns the building. What we as a group might be able to do to support this request was unclear.
Mercifully, there were no more concerns or complaints and the meeting was adjourned.
Wednesday, 1:58 p.m. It was warm on Wednesday in Culver City. I was working the afternoon watch alone, as unlike Sgt. Friday I don't have a partner. The "captain" is our Facility Director, but she had the day off. I'm the President....of the Resident's Advisory Council and it was time for our monthly meeting.
The meeting was called to order with a gentle tap of a closed fist on the table I sat at. When that didn't help, I called the meeting to order verbally, raising my voice to ensure that those who insist on sitting at the back of the room in spite of their difficulties in hearing would pay attention. Eventually we had the room quiet and the first resident was able to talk about their concern.
Which was that the chairs in the dining room are a bit heavy and make a lot of noise when they are dragged. This resident said that they and others had been talking about the idea of having the facility put casters on the legs of these chairs. The President explained patiently that this won't happen, because the dining room has a hard floor and hard floors and chairs with casters are an accident waiting to happen. However he also pointed out that while he knows this to be a fact, he will present the idea to the Facility Director and let her formally reject the notion.
Then another resident asked again about organizing trips around the area for the residents. This suggestion came up last month and was elevated to management. The owners of this facility own the larger, nicer building next door, which happens to have a van. The Facility Director is looking into the possibility of borrowing that van to take residents somewhere. When the President tried to explain this to the resident who wants trips to be organized, they merely repeated their request. At this point, the President was forced to dig into his reservoir of patience, and he responded by asking a question:
"How do you propose we organize a trip when the only vehicle we have access to will seat the driver and three residents, maybe four at best, but there's no way to get four walkers/wheelchairs into the trunk at one time?"
"Couldn't we get one of the vans the Senior Center has?" That's actually not a bad suggestion except that they aren't available on weekdays, and to use one at night or on a weekend involves paying a rental fee and hiring a driver (or paying our driver overtime).
Then the resident who wanted the casters on chairs felt compelled to tell the story of how they managed to fall down in their bathroom when they first moved in, because they didn't realize that the water from the shower would make the floor very slippery. Also, we got to hear about how this happened at six in the morning, but the staff didn't find them on the floor until three hours later.
Next the resident who is very invested in having trips organized asked about the possibility of the facility compiling a list of doctors and dentists for referrals. The President explained that this is not something the facility can do. Doctors who discover they aren't on the list will want to know why. Will doctors be paying to be on the list? How would the facility be ranking doctors, since they aren't a hospital, but an assisted living facility. The explanation of why this would not work took several long minutes.
After the explanation was complete, this resident said "so can we get them to make a list like this?" At this point a number of residents sighed audibly in frustration as the President patiently repeated the entire explantion, a bit more slowly and loudly.
Background is required for this next item that came up. The facility recently completed a major renovation of the building's interior, with new carpets, painting of the walls and ceilings, and the hanging of a number of posters from classic movies. The movie motif of the place is very appropros, given the facility's location adjacent to a major motion picture studio. One of the residents said that the posters hanging on the wall are a danger to the residents and should be removed. A debate ensued regarding whether or not the posters present any danger, and if the simple answer is to bolt them to the wall.
Then a resident who usually has a lot to say at these meetings, but who had said little until now pointed out that many residents miss the old events board that no longer hangs outside the lounge. They want it back. Now this resident has already gone to the Facility Director with this request, and she said she would seek approval from the company that owns the building. What we as a group might be able to do to support this request was unclear.
Mercifully, there were no more concerns or complaints and the meeting was adjourned.
posted by me at 7:52 AM
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