Welcome to another installment of
"As The Assisted Living Facility Turns"
The director of the facility wasn't around much last week as she took off of work to move. To say the staff took advantage under the old adage of "when the cat's away the mice will pay" type of thinking would be a gross understatement. Things were very slack during the director's absence, but now that she's returned, things are getting back to normal.
Conspicuous by her absence has been the director's fairly new administrative assistant. She hasn't been seen for at least a week, but no one seems to care enough to inquire. People have their own agendas in the forefront of their minds. Like one resident who spends most of her time outside of her room complaining about this, that or the other. Recently there were several resident standing outside the front desk when she walked up and said, at the top of her lungs, "are we having meetings here now? If not, let's move out because other people need to be helped at the desk." Having heard that, you can guess why this resident is not too popular with the others.
The dementia in one particular resident seems to be progressing rapidly. This resident can no longer remember which table they sit at during second seating meals. So they will come in and sit down at the table just inside the door. There is another resident who happens to be vocal about things and when the first resident comes in and sits down there, the second resident will insist that the staff move the first resident because the second resident "doesn't like the way he stares at me".
More of the decor of the facility has been re-done, continuing in the motif that this building was once part of the studio backlot. But there is still one resident who insists the many movie posters hanging on the wall are a safety hazard.
The popcorn machine is being used infrequently at best, and most of the time when residents walk through the lobby, only a few crumbs are left from the last batch. The front desk staff will make a fresh batch if asked, but it will disappear within minutes.
Another resident is also having problems with forgetting things. This resident was told four times that it was a certain day of the week and then five minutes later was again asking if it was a different day. I think this resident's roommate and tablemates in the dining room are losing patience with this worsening memory.
The President of the Resident's Council is hearing more complaints that the front desk is being left unstaffed during the evening hours and his investigation has revealed this to be the truth. The problem seems to stem from a shortage of staff trained to work the front desk. The usual desk person is being forced to work graveyard shifts to cover for a patient care aide who is unavailable for an unknown reason. And a housekeeper is now working shifts as a PCA during the day, so the quality of housekeeping has gone down. Also, the President noticed that one of the "relief" front desk people spent much of one recent shift in the med room, playing with their phone. It was during the time the facility director was away.
Until next time....
The director of the facility wasn't around much last week as she took off of work to move. To say the staff took advantage under the old adage of "when the cat's away the mice will pay" type of thinking would be a gross understatement. Things were very slack during the director's absence, but now that she's returned, things are getting back to normal.
Conspicuous by her absence has been the director's fairly new administrative assistant. She hasn't been seen for at least a week, but no one seems to care enough to inquire. People have their own agendas in the forefront of their minds. Like one resident who spends most of her time outside of her room complaining about this, that or the other. Recently there were several resident standing outside the front desk when she walked up and said, at the top of her lungs, "are we having meetings here now? If not, let's move out because other people need to be helped at the desk." Having heard that, you can guess why this resident is not too popular with the others.
The dementia in one particular resident seems to be progressing rapidly. This resident can no longer remember which table they sit at during second seating meals. So they will come in and sit down at the table just inside the door. There is another resident who happens to be vocal about things and when the first resident comes in and sits down there, the second resident will insist that the staff move the first resident because the second resident "doesn't like the way he stares at me".
More of the decor of the facility has been re-done, continuing in the motif that this building was once part of the studio backlot. But there is still one resident who insists the many movie posters hanging on the wall are a safety hazard.
The popcorn machine is being used infrequently at best, and most of the time when residents walk through the lobby, only a few crumbs are left from the last batch. The front desk staff will make a fresh batch if asked, but it will disappear within minutes.
Another resident is also having problems with forgetting things. This resident was told four times that it was a certain day of the week and then five minutes later was again asking if it was a different day. I think this resident's roommate and tablemates in the dining room are losing patience with this worsening memory.
The President of the Resident's Council is hearing more complaints that the front desk is being left unstaffed during the evening hours and his investigation has revealed this to be the truth. The problem seems to stem from a shortage of staff trained to work the front desk. The usual desk person is being forced to work graveyard shifts to cover for a patient care aide who is unavailable for an unknown reason. And a housekeeper is now working shifts as a PCA during the day, so the quality of housekeeping has gone down. Also, the President noticed that one of the "relief" front desk people spent much of one recent shift in the med room, playing with their phone. It was during the time the facility director was away.
Until next time....
posted by me at 11:55 AM
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