And that is what it comes down to... having known people who work in that industry, I don't believe the staff wants to only provide superficial care for your loved one, they don't have much choice. They are overworked and underpaid and even get put on report if a reason arises where they spend extra time and attention on one rather than rattle through the list of many they must tend to.... families should consider these places as a place to house their loved one with the expectation of minimal care... families should expect to be their loved one's primary caregiver and should plan accordingly.
absolutey. I can't stress that to people enough. Yes, becaus eof the nature of the minimal requirements of the job, it can attract people who are lazy and do not want to work or care about their job, however, I would say the vast majority of those types of caregivers are not providing minimal care because of callousness or laziness..its sheer numbers. They are extremely overworked, paid very little, and the benefits are nearly nil. Most i know ( I worked in the field for many years) are extremely caring individuals who do their best with rather extreme circumstances. There are times when entire nursing homes rely on one or two GNAs to care for everyone, all day. It is nearly impossible to provide more than the most basic of care with that kind of responsibility. The burn out rate is incredible. I myself did not go into nursing as I planned because my years as a CNA burnt me out to the point where imagining myself in the field for any second longer gave me anxiety.
bottom line, in order for the best care to be recieved, you HAVE to have someone there every single day. Someone to be involved, someone to provide more complex care, someone to work with the staff to make sure your loved one is adequately cared for. So I always tell people who are looking for a home that location is far more important than anything else. Most are about comparable, so a home that is convenient for frequent and regular interaction should be the deciding factor.
