How you can help skilled nursing facilities during COVID-19
The following message was written by our Chief Nursing Officer Wendy Jeppson, who is on the front lines of protecting our most vulnerable citizens from Coronavirus. So many of you have asked how to help, and Wendy responds perfectly.
On Friday for the safety and welfare of our staff and residents, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provided guidance on strict visitation to every nursing home in the U.S. It does not just affect visitation from the outside, but also how our residents can interact on the inside of their homes.
At SKLD, we are all busy enforcing this new guidance, while at the same time trying to ensure we continue to take care of our residents, both physically and now more than ever, psychologically.
The people who work in this industry have incredible heart
I have been in this industry in one form or another my entire career. I started out as a certified nursing assistant then became a nurse. And the first thing I will tell you is the people who work in this industry have incredible heart. Nursing homes were not what we started out wanting to do, it is was what stole our heart when our careers began. Spend time in a facility, and you will fall in love too. These residents have the most incredible stories to share with us (after all, they lived in a time that built our country), and we become a part of their family.
I can recall many residents who stole my heart through the years, stopping in to visit my office, telling me to go home to eat breakfast with my youngest daughter (believing she was theirs and not mine) or a resident who waited at the entrance because he knew I came in at dark and wanted to ensure I was safe and sing me my morning song. Our team members do the most incredible acts of kindness on a daily basis that often go unrecognized, but I promise you they are happening. So trust me when I say this: they love your family member as if they were their own!
If you want to help our nursing home industry or our healthcare industry, here is what you can do:
1. Follow the strict visitation guidance that went into play for all our nursing homes
2. Please we know you are scared for your loved ones, but we are already deal with staffing issues. Please let our staff care for your loved ones and spend time with them rather than be tied up on a call or in our front lobbies trying to enforce these visitation restrictions.
3. Give our staff a break and deliver a kind word or action rather than a harsh word. Food care packages are always much appreciated and a thank you feeds our soul.
4. Our supplies are being rationed, so if you are that person that stocked up or perhaps took the alcohol based hand sanitizer or face masks, box it up and leave it at the entrance of a nursing home. They need it.
5. If you have young children who can color pictures or even write notes, put a package together and leave it at an entrance of a nursing home.
6. If you know of a neighbor or friend who works in the health care industry and they have children, see if they need help. All of the schools closed, but work for these individuals is needed now more than ever.
7. If you know of a neighbor or friend who works in the healthcare industry, make them a meal or two, because they are going to be working a lot. I know these amazing humans, and it won’t just be their 8 or 12 hour shift. It will be much more than that.
8. Finally, please limit your social interactions. Wash your hands. If you are sick stay home. But more importantly, don’t feed into the panic of all of this, stop getting angry and instead let’s all find a way to be the solution not part of the problem.