Welcome!
Linda Leekley BS, RN
Welcome to Just for Nursing Assistants…where CNAs are our only focus!
So, why create a website that’s all about nursing assistants? Here’s why: we believe that direct caregivers—such as CNAs, home health aides and personal care aides—are the heroes of health care. And, unfortunately, they are often unsung heroes.
If you take a trip through history, the same used to be true of nurses. For example, did you know that most nurses were not allowed to take vital signs until the 1960s? Physicians did not believe nurses had the skills necessary to use stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs! All told, it took hundreds of years for nurses to garner the respect that they deserve.
What about CNAs? They became part of the health care team in World War I when the Red Cross enlisted the help of untrained volunteers to assist nurses. Now, nearly 100 years later, nursing assistants provide up to 90% of the direct hands-on patient care. In the United States alone, there are more than 3 million direct care workers and we are going to need 1 million more by 2016!
Nursing assistants earn our admiration every day by providing care to the sick and/or elderly in a variety of settings: hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, patients’ homes and more. You probably know someone who has been cared for by a certified nursing assistant. We’d love to hear your story—and help you share your thoughts with CNAs around the globe.
We can’t afford to wait another century to show respect and appreciation for nursing assistants. Please join us today in honoring CNAs everywhere!
Cat Shero, CNA, Is a HERO in Our Books!
We love this story about Catherine Shero, CNA. It was published in the TriValley Dispatch newspaper.
Catherine “Cat” Shero started her career as a certified nursing assistant after graduating from high school in Flint, Mich., in 1973.
“I just kind of fell into it back then,” said Shero, who went to high school with filmmaker Michael Moore. “I stayed in it because it was my passion – because I like taking care of the people.”
Shero, 55, said she has never considered another occupation, or going back to school to become a nurse. After all, she loves her job, and described her patients as “our most vulnerable population.”
She moved to Prescott from Happy Jack three years ago, and has worked since then at Meadow Park Care Center, a 64-bed skilled nursing facility.
Shero is now lead CNA at Meadow Park, and is assigned to 19 patients with behavioral health issues. Her duties include bathing and dressing people.
You can read the full story here. Our heartfelt thanks and congratulations go out to Cat!!
Congratulations to a Deserving CNA!
Paula Blunt, a certified nursing assistant at Delmar Gardens North, is the second-place winner of the “I Make a Difference Award,” a national award from Positive Promotions.
Blunt’s nomination was based on her 20 years of service, nine of them at Delmar Gardens North.
Blunt’s administrator and charge nurse describe her as a “mini teacher,” saying she always mentors new nursing assistants, helping them develop their skills.
CONGRATULATIONS to you, Paula, from all of us at Just For Nursing Assistants!
Tags: CNAs, honoring nursing assistants
A Great NY Times Article about CNAs
Yesterday, the New York Times posted an article on its website entitled One Way to Judge a Nursing Home. So, what’s that “one way’? It involves talking to the nursing assistants at the nursing home and finding out how long they have been on staff.
The author of the article, Dale Russakoff, describes her experience of searching for a nursing home for her mother. Here is some of what she has to say:
“In casual conversations in hallways and dining rooms at more than a dozen facilities, I found only one nurses’ aide who had been on the job more than six months. I was witnessing in real life one of the most dismal statistics in long-term care: More than 70 percent of nurses’ aides, or certified nursing assistants, change jobs in a given year.”
In studying the issue of CNA turnover, Ms. Russakoff came face to face with the ugly truth:
“Researchers have found that high turnover in a facility corresponds with poor quality of care — more bedsores and more use of restraints, catheters and mood-altering drugs. That is, more reliance on medicine and technology, less on relationships.
In nursing homes with high turnover rates, certified nursing assistants tend to leave within three months, often because of inadequate training and support to juggle multiple frail, ailing residents at a time, according to Robyn Stone, senior vice president for research at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Once aides leave, everyone else must pick up their caseloads, and the stress of the job rises.”
Ms. Russakoff did find a nursing home where a number of the nurse aides were long time employees…and this is where her mother lived until her death. One particular nursing assistant was especially memorable:
“Ericka Dickens had been there for nine years when she became my mother’s aide. She had the patience and experience to navigate my mother’s stormy moods as her dementia worsened, to notice immediately when she was feeling weak or sick. Sometimes I would arrive in the early morning to find Ms. Dickens sitting beside my mother, holding her hand and talking to her.
I asked [Ericka] what made her want to stay in the job all these years. She said she always felt respected and supported, but the anchor for her and others is the bond with residents.”
You can read the complete article here.
Betty Perez: Hero of Long Term Care!
Betty Perez, Nurse Aide & Hero
The Ohio Health Care Association (OHCA) has selected Betty Perez, a nurse aide, as its June 2010 Hero of Long Term Care. To honor Betty, the OHCA will feature her on their website throughout the month of June. She will also be celebrated at the 2011 OHCA annual conference.
Betty works at Wapakoneta Manor in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Her administrator, Lorraine Fischio, had this to say about her:
“Betty has the ability to stay focused on the residents’ needs…making them her top priority. She has a ‘can-do’ attitude and her co-workers enjoy working with her. She goes above and beyond the call of duty, coming in to work on off-shifts and helping out as needed. Through her efforts, Betty puts a smile on the faces of everyone she touches. She is our hero!”
All of us at Just for Nursing Assistants applaud Betty for her devotion to her work. And, we congratulate her on her achievement!
Note: You can read more about Betty here.
Tags: CNAs, hero, nurse aide
A Good Nursing Assistant Is a Hero
The other day, I found a great essay written by Mark Laughlin for the online magazine, Smile Politely. It’s obvious that Mark has a great appreciation for nursing assistants and understands their importance to our health care system. Here’s some of what Mark had to say:
- Nursing assistants come in all shapes and sizes. They are both male and female. Their physical appearances are different, but they all have bodies that withstand the punishing nature of the work.
- They do a lot of stuff that isn’t really in the job description. They arrange the Hallmark cards next to the bed, dial the phone for residents who can’t do it themselves and clean out the whiskers that are clogging the blades of the electric razor.
- In short, nursing assistants help people who can’t completely help themselves. A nursing assistant can be the functioning arms of a quadriplegic, the eyesight of a person who is blind, the voice of someone who cannot talk.
- Nursing assistants don’t just work with their patients and residents—they pretty much live with them, 40 hours a week, sometimes for decades—until the patient or resident is discharged or dies. Want to know if a resident prefers angel food or chocolate cake? What television shows they watch on Tuesday nights? How many socks they have in their bottom dresser drawer? Ask the nursing assistant.
- Nursing assistants have a tough, dirty job. They are often verbally abused by the residents they take care of. This happens especially in nursing homes, where residents are often angry and no longer willing or able to be polite.
- Nursing assistants have to deal with the most intimate and disgusting bodily functions of their residents—they change diapers, clean up vomit, etc. Residents do sudden and shocking things. Nursing assistants get bit—literally. That kind of stuff pushes your buttons, but a good nursing assistant deals with all of the above without losing their temper and does what is best for their residents at all times.
- Nursing assistant work is generally viewed as not being highly-skilled. In a sense, this is true. It doesn’t take as long to learn how to operate a Hoyer lift as it does to learn a new computer programming language, for example. But being a good nursing assistant is more than just a set of skills—it’s a gift.
- A good nursing assistant has a capacity for caring that can’t be taught; some people have it, and some people don’t. For instance, a nursing assistant might have a non-ambulatory resident with developmental disabilities who is showered lying down on a gurney and always gets upset when the water hits him. So, the nursing assistant tries different things and finally discovers that singing to the resident calms him down. She even figures out what songs he likes best. Then, she sings to him every shift—for years. She doesn’t just sing because it’s easier and safer to shower the resident when he’s calm. She doesn’t do it because she’s being watched for her performance evaluation. She does it because she’s like that—because she cares.
- A good nursing assistant is a hero.
Thank you, Mark, for your insightful essay (which can be read in its entirety here).
Only a CNA?
Dawn Mazzola is a certified nursing assistant at a nursing/rehab facility. She finds working with the elderly to be a very rewarding job, yet sometimes she feels her job goes overlooked. One day after a long shift, she came home and wrote about being a CNA.
“Only” a CNA?
Who are you to refer to us,
As “Only” a CNA?
We’re the ones who wash and dress
Our patients for the day.
We’re the ones who take the time
To listen to them speak.
We listen about their lifetime,
In a forty hour week.
We also give our hands to hold
When someone’s feeling scared.
It’s not easy being a patient,
You’re never quite prepared.
We take the time to listen,
By lending both our ears.
We listen to their worries,
Or how they’ve spent their years.
Our arms were made to reach,
And even wrap around.
To give our patients hugs,
When they’re feeling a little down.
We help our patients do the things,
They used to do on their own.
Everybody needs some help,
Even when we’re grown.
So who are you to refer to us,
As “only” a CNA?
We do our best to meet their needs,
Within our working day.
We chose to do this job,
The job did not choose us.
We sympathize and empathize,
Compassion is a must.
We try to keep them comfortable,
And free of any fear.
We sit along beside them,
When that time is near.
We hold their hand, stroke their hair,
Just making sure they know.
They’re not alone, an aide is there,
It’s ok for them to go.
To all the CNAs keep your head held high,
We’re not “only” CNAs.
WE’RE ANGELS IN DISGUISE!!
Source: FamilyFriendPoems website
Congratulations to CNAs Everywhere!
Every June, nursing assistants are honored for one week during National CNA Week. Today is the first day of CNA Week 2010. So, congratulations to CNAs (and other direct care workers) everywhere!
Of course, at Just for Nursing Assistants, we prefer to honor CNAs every day! It is our mission to spread the word about the importance of the nursing assistant role…and, as a result, help to promote fair pay and increased benefits for direct care workers. Right now, about one third of all direct care workers have no health insurance themselves. How can we let that continue?
So, thanks to everyone who has already contributed a message to Just for Nursing Assistants. The more voices heard, the better! And a HUGE thank you to all the dedicated CNAs across the U.S. and beyond. Enjoy your CNA Week…but please remember that we are here for you all year long!
Got a Minute? Please Watch This Video…
Please take a couple of minutes out of your day and watch this video. It may be an eye-opener for you!
The Importance of Direct Care Workers
PHI is a great organization that has worked hard to improve working conditions, pay and benefits for the direct care workforce. If you would like to help them in their effort to change state and national policies, please check out their PHIPolicyWorks website.
And, as always, thanks so much to all the direct care workers across the U.S. and beyond!
Tags: CNAs, direct caregivers, nursing assistants, PHI, PHIPolicyWorks
The Importance of Nursing Assistants
It’s impossible to fly an airplane without wings, right? And, there is no way to ride a bike without wheels. The business of providing healthcare is a “machine” just like an airplane or a bicycle. The entire “machine” of healthcare would crash without the direct client care provided by hardworking, dedicated and compassionate nursing assistants like you!
Every day that you come to work, you improve people’s lives. Even if you only work with one client a day, you have an impact on that client’s entire family! Whatever your title, CNA, Home Health Aide or Personal Care Aide, you are the member of the healthcare team who has the most direct contact with your clients or residents.
CNAs—not doctors or nurses— provide up to nine out of every ten hours of direct care for each patient! You are IT! You are the “front-line.” You are the one the client will remember. You are the one with whom the client will develop a relationship. Without you, there is no “machine.”
It takes a very special type of person to care for others in such an important and intimate way.
- You have a genuine concern for others.
- You are dependable.
- You have integrity.
- You work well individually and in a team.
- You are able to handle stress.
- You are careful and thorough with every task you complete.
- You are always willing to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
- You are able to communicate effectively.
- You have both physical and emotional strength .
As a nurse, I applaud you. And, as a member of our global community, I thank you, CNAs everywhere, for the amazing job you do in caring for the sick and/or the elderly!
Linda
Linda Leekley BS, RN
Advice from Patch!
Robin Williams "clowning around" with the real Dr. Patch Adams
Do you remember the 1998 movie, Patch Adams, in which Robin Williams starred as a doctor who wanted to bring humor and humanity to his treatment of patients? That movie was based on the life of the real Patch Adams, founder and director of the Gesundheit Institute and author of two books, including House Calls.
House Calls is a great read for anyone who believes that joy, laughter and kindness have an impact on health. As Robin Williams writes in the introduction, “…read this book. It’s filled with good, honest, common sense. Even if you are not ill, this book offers positive ways to lead life.”
Here are some excerpts from House Calls, examples of the heartfelt advice from Dr. Patch Adams. In my opinion, it is what the best nursing assistants already do for their patients!
“Nature is powerful medicine. Never let yourself get bored with nature. Appreciate every tree, bird, or sunset. Feeling the miracle of life through interaction with nature can be essential for your good health. Pets and gardens have been found to be beneficial for health. Watching a fish tank and listening to moving water have both been shown to lower blood pressure.”
“When in doubt, relax. Be cool. Don’t worry, be happy. Breathe in slowly, breathe out slowly. Think sweet thoughts. Think of your blessings. Hang loose. Melt in the presence of your friends. Pray, sing and make weird noises. Laugh for long periods of time. Hug for a long time. Get and give massages. Give up guilt, hate, duty, sacrifice, boredom, loneliness, fear, judgment and formality. Plop down on a big pillow. Say nice things to yourself and to others.”
“Fun (humor in action) and the accompanying laughter bring great medicine into the hospital room. Studies show that laughter relieves pain, relaxes stress and stimulates the immune system. For many people, the humor can come through stories of their past or present that show the funny sides of life.”
“Do not presume that if the illness is serious you have to remain solemn. I remember a young man who had cancer that killed him in his twenties. He told me how disturbing it was to constantly have people around him treat him as if he were already dead. Friends could not see the cancer in perspective enough to treat him as a regular living person. People are always so much bigger than their illness.”
“I suggest that whatever you bring to patients to enhance their healing and cheer them up, you can also share with everyone you meet. Each one of us can contribute toward creating a healthier society. It is well documented that helping others benefits one’s own health (physically, mentally and spiritually). And you don’t have to give up anything in order to help others. Giving to others is really a gigantic gift to yourself.”