Nursing home troubles

[Eisa]

All this hospital and ER and nurse stuff keeps reminding me of my own experiences volunteering in a nursing home. [Which is why it's going in sightings...although if it belongs elsewhere, feel free to move it.]

I originally started volunteering at the nursing home my mom works in because of National Honors Society service hours. I needed some. Stat. My sister volunteered with me because I was scared, and well, we just kept doing it for years. I haven't volunteered in probably 2 years, though, because...well, it's too hard for me to go in and make friends with people and discover they died, apparently. I can't hack it. But anyway. A few "sightings."

As a volunteer, of course, there wasn't much I could do. For a while, I would help bring out breakfast trays. I had to go in with my mom--who got to work at 6 a.m. Yikes. Sleepy time. My sister and I would sleep/read in the library. A couple of times, a nurse even brought us a blanket and pillow! Very appreciative. My mom didn't care because if we weren't needed, what's the point of being awake and bored, you know?

But anyway. Generally, we could hand out breakfast trays, help with bibs, inform the nurses if someone needed help, talk to the residents, and help with activities. Oh, and a lot of times, we filled the water pitchers and brought them to every room. The CNAs loved us for that.

But helping a resident? Was a BIG no-no. Nevertheless, when I was...16, I think, this man wanted me to help him. I thought he just wanted me to straighten out his bed or something. No, he wanted me to help him OUT of his wheelchair and INTO his bed. And kind of...latched onto me so I had to try to help him or drop him. I was happy as all hell when someone walked by and I was like, HELP! I think it was my mom, even. It was like...seriously. This guy had all his faculties upstairs still. Why would he try to make a 16-year-old volunteer do something like that? I can't help. I could get in trouble for helping...the whole facility could get in trouble.

The next big thing happened a couple of years later. Unfortunately, I was over 18. However, my sister wasn't. There was this guy who was a big perv. HUGE perv. He'd been written up a ton of times over it, but they couldn't transfer him yet. I don't know why. I'm pissed they didn't.

I was in his room--I believe giving him his water pitcher. He started talking to me. And told me he wanted to see my...you can guess. Yeah, I'm going to pull my pants down and show that off to a SUPER creepy old guy. Yeah, RIGHT. So I got out of there immediately and went and told my mom. I was really upset and creeped out. My mom was PISSED. She went and told him off. But she said the most they could do was write him up because I wasn't under 18...buuuuuut then...

He commented on my sister's boobs. Yeah, her underage boobs.

He got written up on the spot, and my mom pitched a fit about him. And told us we didn't have to go near him again. The head nurse hated him, but they were still having a hard time actually kicking him out--I'm not sure why, I'd have to ask my mom again.

He did get kicked out, though...when he hit on the relative of one of the other residents who was underage and had Down's syndrome. FINALLY.

Volunteering was still fun, though...just got awfully sad sometimes...

[Sapphire Silk]

Adults are considered able to protect themselves from unwanted advances. Unless he actually touches someone, it is hard to get administration to get rid of a paying customer . . . not so much because of the money (there are usually waiting lists for beds) but because they don't want legal hassles from the family of the man who gets kicked out.

Underage and mentally disabled . . . that's a different story. It's attempted rape by definition and creates legal nightmares no administrator wants to deal with.

I worked in long term care for awhile. I had to leave for the same reason you haven't volunteered in awhile: I get attached and it hurts when a resident dies.

I remember these two old gals who lived in rooms next to one another. Every day they would put chairs in the hall by the doors to their rooms, like sitting on a porch, and they would gossip about everyone on the unit: the other residents, the nurses, the other staff. Loudly.

One day, the elderly gent stopped in front of them, opened his zipper and started masturbating in front of them. The shock on their faces was priceless.

[Eisa]

Panacea: Well, and I understand that, but my sister wasn't an adult. 17 is underage here. And you would think with the sheer volume of complaints, they would have booted him sooner. He DID put hands on some of the CNA's, trying to grab at their chest/ass and stuff. Always making really inappropriate comments. I think he'd been written up by almost every member of the staff, to be honest.

Plus, it wasn't just a relative of a member of the nursing staff, it was a relative of one of the residents. *shrewd look* I bet that played a part in it, too...

Yeah. My mom has been working there almost 12 years and she has a piece of paper where she's written all the names of the people who've died on it. The paper is pretty much covered.

That's awesome. Shameful of him, but awesome.