Home » Health & Wellness » Nursing » A Day In The Life of A Nurse - Part III: Long-Term Care - Page 2

A Day In The Life of A Nurse - Part III: Long-Term Care - Page 2

© Pat Mahan

PPS has also adversely affected care provided to customers. For example, before PPS, if a patient was admitted with multiple pressure ulcers (bed sores), they would be placed on an expensive yet very effective specialty bed that would help the wounds heal while preventing other wounds from occurring. Now, under PPS, LTC centers cannot afford to offer this option. In some cases, the daily rental rate for these special beds is more than the payment that is being received to care for the patient. So in effect, nurses and doctors have been forced to provide less than optimal care to their patients.

While all this is going on, the federal government is increasing enforcement of regulatory standards. One presidential candidate is calling for an additional $400 million in enforcement. From this nurse's perspective this equates to taking billions of dollars from health care and instead using the money to enlarge federal agencies with oversight authority.

Did you know that LTC is the most regulated industry in the U.S.? That's a fact. You can open a nuclear power plant and not have as many regulations to comply with and you will certainly not have nearly as many local, state and federal agencies inspecting your work.

Did you know many states pay less per day to care for an LTC resident than it would cost you to get a motel room in the same city and state? That's also a fact. In my state, for example, the average daily rate is less than $100.00. This includes all meals, most supplies (soap, toothpaste, shampoo, diapers, etc), recreational activities, social services, and around-the-clock nursing care.

Now, let's go back to those poor nurses. I have been an ICU nurse, an E.R. nurse, a home care nurse, and a nursing manager, and I can tell you categorically, nothing has been more difficult than being a staff nurse in the LTC industry. Out- numbered, over-regulated, over-documented, with too few professional staff assessing customers, all equate to most problems you read about in the news headlines.

Speaking of which, let's discuss one more issue here. ABUSE! Did you know the vast majority of elder abuse in this country is by a family member, not professional care givers? Yet, it is rarely prosecuted and even less likely given a headline. You won't hear about this on your nightly news program. Why is that? Why don't we take a more aggressive posture about care of the elderly before they are in nursing homes? This is one of those issues that needs to be better discussed and verbalized so that it may be kept in better perspective when it comes to LTC centers.

The copyright of the article A Day In The Life of A Nurse - Part III: Long-Term Care - Page 2 in Nursing is owned by Pat Mahan. Permission to republish A Day In The Life of A Nurse - Part III: Long-Term Care - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.