Work schedule around residents: Barr
Monday, March 28, 2005 - Natalie Miller
Long-term care staff can and should work their schedules around residents because after all, it's the residents' home, says a supportive measures advocate.

Kathy Barr, also life enrichment co-ordinator at Rosebridge Manor in Jasper, says the days have past when residents had to fit in to staff members' schedules.

"For so long the residents had to work into our schedules," says Kathy.

"That's how we've changed over the years. It's not about what's convenient to the staff member. We can change to accommodate the resident," she says. "It's their home. It's the decent thing to do."

For example, if it's a resident's designated time for a bath and he or she doesn't want one, be flexible, Kathy suggests. Offer the resident a bath the next day or at a different time of day by switching with another resident. Kathy says a personal support worker recently fulfilled a resident's spontaneous request for a bubble bath when it wasn't her scheduled day for one.

As well, a health care aide recently trimmed a resident's unkempt beard and moustache herself instead of waiting for the day the beautician was in the home.

Kathy says it comes down to the approach. "They're supportive to our residents by the way our residents are approached. They're approached like individuals.

Approach is particularly important when a resident is upset, Kathy says. For instance, if a person with dementia is recalling a sad event from the past, most staff know the best thing to do is distract them with talk of something unrelated. It's important to be sensitive when supporting residents and help them work through their dementia, she says.

"I think one of the most important things is don't look at them just as nursing home residents." Kathy says the residents have interesting past lives and histories to share.