Archive for March, 2010

Keep Your Patients Active

Monday, March 29th, 2010

It is extremely important to keep your patients as active as possible.  During the STNA training in Ohio, students learn that activity improves and maintains physical and mental health for the patients.  Our training teaches students how to engage. Patients who are inactive may experience

  • Loss of self-esteem
  • Depression
  • Boredom
  • Pneumonia
  • Urinary Tract Infections
  • Constipation
  • Blood clots
  • Dulling of the senses

 Meaningful activities help promote independence, memory, self-esteem, and quality of life. Physical activity can also help manage disease states, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Regular activity can also:

  • Lessen the risk of heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, and obesity
  • Relieve symptoms of depression
  • Improve mood and concentration
  • Improve bodily functions
  • Lower the risk of falls
  • Improve sleep quality
  • Improve the patient’s ability to cope with stress
  • Increase energy
  • Increase appetite and promote better eating habits.

 Many facilities have an activity department that encourages residents to socialize and to be physically and mentally active. Activities such as exercise, arts and crafts, games, reading, gardening, and religious events are regularly scheduled and patients are encouraged to participate to the best of their physical and mental abilities. These activities are often a regular part of daily schedules and are usually posted in conspicuous places throughout a facility.

While encouraging residents to be active, you must also be respectful of their wishes. Some residents may simply not want to participate. Ask them why they do not want to participate and respect that feeling, rather than treating them like a child, which is embarrassing and demeaning.

  • The resident may not want to participate because he or she does not know how to do the activity and they don’t want to be embarrassed. Removed from the group, patiently teach them what they need to know about the activity.
  • Offer an alternative activity.

The goal is to keep patients as healthy and active as possible.

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Working with Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

Alzheimer’s Disease, or AD, is one of the most common causes of dementia in the elderly and more than half of nursing home patients in the US may have it, or a related disorder. AD causes tangled nerve fibers and protein deposits to form in the brain, which eventually cause dementia. The disease progressively gets worse, causing greater and greater loss of health and abilities.

Symptoms of AD appear gradually and tend to start with memory loss. Patients tend to become disoriented and start to lose their communication abilities. Mood and behavior change, leading to aggressiveness, wandering, and withdrawal. Eventually, the patient loses all ability to care for himself or herself.

When working with a patient with AD, in addition to helping the resident continue to do things for himself or herself, which can slow AD’s progression, there are things you can do to make it easier to work with a resident with this frustrating and debilitating condition.

  • Do not take their behavior personally.
  • Treat residents with AD with dignity and respect, as you would want to be treated.
  • Work with the symptoms and behaviors you see.
  • Work as a team.
  • Encourage communication.
  • Take care of yourself.
  • Work with family members.
  • Follow the goals of the resident care plan.

When communicating with the patient,

Do not startle the patient. Always approach from the front.

  • Determine how close the resident wants you to be.
  • Speak slowly in a calm, low voice, preferably in a room that has little background noise.
  • Always identify yourself and use the resident’s name.
  • Repeat yourself as often as needed.
  • Use signs, pictures, gestures, or written words, if needed.
  • Break complex tasks into smaller, simpler ones, giving simple step-by-step instructions when needed.

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