Elderly in Acute Care Setting
Dominick A. Major
Gerontological Nursing
University of Toledo College of Nursing
July 15th, 2015
Special Needs for Elderly As we age our bodies change, our abilities to care for our selves lessen and we start to rely more on our caregivers for the proper care. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 2015 there will nearly 89 million people by 2015 who are 65 years of age of older. This will be almost double the elders there were in 2010. This means that as a nurse we will see an increase in elders in the hospital needing care. A study done in 2009 stated that “64% of caregivers of persons 50 years of age or older with a chronic or disabling condition” (Earlea & Heymann, 2012, p. 359).
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Elderly patients require special needs when they come into the hospital, weather they are ill, have fallen, end of life care, or are going to undergo surgery. As a nurse the most important and beneficial thing you can do is a full head to toe assessment, and ask the patient if they have an advance directive. If the elder has an advance directive, it will help you as the nurse as well as the multidisciplinary team provide the best care for the client if something was to happen if they were unable to make the decisions on what they want. An assessment is an important part of the nursing practice because as a nurse who is with the patient most at the bed side it is important to have a base line of your patient. A base line is important so you can provide the best care for your patient and be able to determine if they are improving or declining. This is important because as a nurse taking care of an elderly you will most likely be working with a multidisciplinary care team, along with residents and families of the elder you are taking care of. According to the Hartford Geriatric Nursing Institute developed the Nurses Improving Care for Health Systems Elders (NICHE) program, “the nurse plays a pivotal role in influencing the older adult’s hospital experience and outcomes, through direct nursing care, as well as coordination of interdisciplinary …show more content…
It is important to ensure that the patient is getting a bath daily, oral care, as well as brief changes so they are not setting in their excretions.
For elderly patients it is important for the you as the nurse to be up on the most recent evidence based practice for the geriatric population. Evidence based practice is important to follow as a nurse because it is set from the research that is proven to be beneficial. There are This is important because the elderly population is treated differently then the regular adult population. This is due to them being on multiple medications at once, multiple chronic health conditions, and the body inability to process and excrete drug
Expect the best, prepare for the worst and capitalize on what comes (Zig Ziglar). The demand for talented, educated and experienced nursing home administrators is increasing, and filling this demand is becoming more challenging. In this paper, the qualifications, responsibilities, and duties of a nursing home administrator, professional staff, nonlicensed staff, and consultants will be identified. We will explore trends that are likely to affect assisted living in the future. We also will explore new changes in regulation related to the F490, the Facility assessment and how it will impact the role of the administrator.
Mollie is the patient in our case study. Mollie lives with her daughter and son in law, both in their 70’s. A home health aide assists Mollie five days a week for three hours each day. At age 94, Mollie is an older adult, considered to be part of a vulnerable population, at risk for hearing, visual and mobility deficits. This at risk population can experience changes in cognitive or physical status making the activities of daily living difficult to perform (Meiner, 2011). As people like Mollie age, gradually becoming less able to function independently, their grown children, potential caregivers, may be preoccupied with the demands of their own lives and not prepared to care for an older
Who is going to care for our aging population when they are unable to care for themselves? A Certified Nursing Assistant, also referred to as a CNA will. A CNA has many responsibilities in the healthcare field. CNAs are the primary caregivers to residents in long-term care facilities and hospitals. CNAs help residents perform activities of daily living. A few examples of activities of daily living are feeding, bathing, dressing and toileting. With all the responsibilities CNAs have, their job can be stressful. The night shift for CNAs requires getting patients ready for supper and put to bed. Some people may think this is simple, but it is not. On average a CNA is responsible for twelve residents while toileting every resident, assessing their needs, and watching for the other residents call lights, CNAs need to have every resident to supper by six o’clock. Once all residents are at the table for supper, CNAs must give each resident their trays and then feed them. Once they are done feeding the residents, CNAs start taking residents to bed. While giving bedtime care CNAs toilet the resident, wash the resident, brush their teeth, put pajamas on them, and transfer them into bed. While giving night time care CNAs need to listen for the alarms of fall risk residents, answer call lights, and be patient with the resident they are giving care to. CNAs need to give quality care
With over 1.5 million elderly and dependent adults now living in nursing homes throughout the country, abuse and neglect has become a widespread problem. Even though some nursing homes provide good care, many are subjecting helpless residents to needless suffering and death. Most residents in nursing homes are dependent on the staff for most or all their needs such as food, water, medicine, toileting, grooming- almost all their daily care. Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful pressure sores. They are often isolated, ignored and deprived of social contact and stimulation. Because of insufficient and poorly trained staff commonly found in nursing homes. Care givers are often overworked and grossly underpaid that often results in rude and abusive behavior to vulnerable residents who beg them for simple needs such as water or to be taken to the bathroom.
Touhy, T. A., & Jett, K. (2012). Toward healthy aging: Human needs & nursing response (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier/Mosby.
Houde, S., & Melillo, K. (2009). Caring for an aging population. Journal Of Gerontological Nursing, 35(12), 9-13. doi:10.3928/00989134-20091103-04
Evidence-based practice integrates best current evidence with clinical expertise and patient/family preferences and values for the delivery of optimal health care (qsen.org). Like most medical professions, nursing is a constantly changing field. With new studies being done and as we learn more about different diseases it is crucial for the nurse to continue to learn even after becoming an RN. Using evidence-based practice methods are a great way for nurses and other medical professionals learn new information and to stay up to date on new ways to practice that can be used to better assess
older adults. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(6), 269-271. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.
There are changes in the demographic as the population grows older, the number of older adult’s increases and thus, there is an increase of proportion of patients that are older adults for nurses to take care of (Wells, Y., Foreman, P., Gething, L., & Petralia, W., 2004). The nurses are there to assist and support the older adults in achieving wellness within their situation through empowering the clients (Touhy, et al (2012). Caring for older adults is important as there is an increase in population with deteriorating health. When caring for a client it is important to incorporate Jean Watson’s caring theories and Carative Factors to help influence and support the care. She encourages nurses to co-participate within the caring process by establishing unity and trust between the nurse and client. First, this paper will explain a situation in where I cared for an older adult and it will then introduce Jean Watson’s lower order needs, specifically the need for activity and how it relates to the older adult I cared for. Lastly, this paper will explain the nursing interventions I implemented to meet the lower order need, with a discussion of Carative Factor #4 relating to the client.
The long-term care system consists of an integrated continuum of many institutional and non-institutional providers who deliver extended care when needed. Long-term care providers deliver a variety of care to individuals with chronic, mobility and/or cognitive impairments/limitations. These providers include: nursing facilities, sub acute care, assisted living, residential care, elderly housing options and community based adult services (Pratt, 2010). A great majority of these providers are already taking care of the many baby boomers that are present today and will be present in the future. “Baby boomers” are individuals who were born between the years 1946-1964. Since 2011, every day 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 years old (Pratt, 2010). This
Kick, Ella. "Overview: Health Care and the Aging Population: What Are Today's Challenges?" The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. N.p., n.d. Web.
An important step to decrease an ageist attitude is to take a step back and recognize biases and preconceived ideas that one has about older adults (DeBrew, 2015). Recognizing biases in combination with furthering one’s education about the effects of aging and the specific needs of older adults will help increase compassionate care. To allow for effective interventions it is important that the nurse understand that illness and infection manifest differently in older adults than they do in the younger population (DeBrew, 2015). In addition, through ethnographic study it was found that when nurses spend time doing activities with older adults it helps strengthen relationships and sense of community between care providers and elderly patients (DeBrew, 2015). According to the article, “occupational therapists who worked with older adults felt ‘stigmatized’ by their peers because their work was viewed as less challenging and requiring less skill and intellect than caring for other populations” (DeBrew, 2015). To promote compassionate patient care it is important that nurses and other professionals get support from their peers to confirm that their work is not insignificant and looked down upon. Finally, include the older adult while creating the plan of care to show them that they are a valued part of their healthcare
She should wash the hands to protect client from any infection. Wear gloves and gown to protect her hands and clothes from the soiled environment.
Individuals need specific care tailored to them, it is vitality important to have the correct professional and appropriate personal care. In order to receive this we need to get the patient involved in the decision process, listen to their views and opinions and receive the relevant, accurate, professional and medical information. Once all the information is collaborated a personal care package can be put into practice.
Today, the world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and the United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will account for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents.