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BayView Caregivers
What does it take to become a caregiver at BayView?
All of our BayView Companions are fingerprinted
using a company called LiveScan, which also does an extensive background check. Once a potential employee
has cleared, they must show their American Red Cross First Aid Certification. Next, they must visit the Shelter Island
Medical Group where a physician administers a thorough screening and health exam.
Now they can begin their BayView training.
They receive an eight hour training program developed in conjunction with the State of California
to properly assist seniors with activities of daily living with dignity. Additionally, BayView companions participate
in a ten hour dementia-specific training program, applying many principles espoused by the Alzheimer’s Association
that teaches them the best way to address the challenges of interacting with memory challenged seniors. For instance, they
learn the best way to deal with a confused individual who becomes agitated and believes they have to leave to meet their
husband (when in reality their husband has long since passed).
Finally, they are trained by our executive
director to comply with our Positive Interaction Pogram™, a practice which teaches the importance of phrasing requests,
such as “Stand up strong!” versus the more commonly used “Now, don’t fall!”
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Real Life Stories
Following are some
short stories which illustrate how BayView's staff have affected the lives of our residents and their families.
Coming out of Skilled Nursing
Kristen is a consultant
that works with BayView. She has "rescued" several people from skilled nursing homes. No slight on skilled
nursing; they are highly regulated medical facilities with a great deal of liability and risk, whose purpose is to heal
the body. Many seniors find themselves in a skilled nursing facility after a fall in the home, or some other medical
emergency. In these facilities, it is a common practice to strap people into beds and wheelchairs "for their
own safety" and prescribe a medicine for every perceived malady (it is estimated 90% of seniors are over-medicated). It
comes as no surprise to me that a common side effect of being involuntarily thrust into these clinical facilities
is delirium and depression. Here is Stella's story.
Kristen visited Stella on behalf of BayView
at ten o'clock in the morning. She was lying in the hospital bed with her hands strapped to the bed. She was
not yet dressed. When Kristen demanded an explanation as to why Stella was not attending the coffee social, (Stella
loves coffee) the nurse told her they couldn't lift her to dress her. They also reported that Stella was unable
to communicate because of advanced Alzheimers, and couldn't be trained to be continent or even walk. When
Kristen told them she was cognitively all there, she just had a speech impediment, they were skeptical. Kristen persisted
and the nursing home's physical therapist came to help Stella get dressed. Kristen and Stella arrived at the coffee
social after it was over, however, they were able to share a cup of coffee together. Stella couldn't hold the coffee
cup independently.
Jump forward just three short weeks. There is cheering in the hallway, so I peek
out to see what's the hubbub. Stella is using a walker, independently (with no physical help) to transgress the
space between the living room and her bedroom. I come out to congratulate her. Before approaching her, I take
her in. She is wearing a new outfit and her hair and makeup are done. She is bright and alert now that's
she's literally taking half the medicine she was three weeks earlier.
"Stella, you're walking"
I stammer.
She cocks her head sideways to look up at me, smiles big and and in a gravelly and defiant voice,
growls out a big, "Ha!"
Move-in day.
Every family is different, but I believe
move-in day is more traumatic for the families than for our new residents. Adult children or spouses feel guilty about
"leaving" their loved ones. And there are cultural influences and beliefs about the best way to care for an
aging parent that can make move-in day quite emotional, . . . or not.
You see, most of us only ever see one side
of our parents. This is evidenced by the number of times an adult child sputters, "My mom did what?!"
Move-in story #1
Here is a familiar story about a woman who anguished for months over the decision
"to place" her mom in an assisted living facility. Several people had witnessed the mom manipulate the daughter
on a daily basis, and the overall living arrangements had just become unhealthy. For those of you who are currently
caregivers, we applaud your tenacity, but caution it's not always the best choice. (One study shows adult children
living with a parent spend more time caring for their parents than they do their own children placing considerable stress
on the entire household.) This daughter finally found the right community for her mother. During the
move-in the daughter was instructed not to visit her mom for three full days. The daughter, however, couldn't make
it. On day two, she called her mom to tell she was coming today for a visit. The mother's response?
"Not today dear, today is da bingo," the mother protested.
The daughter consequently scheduled a long
overdue family vacation to reconnect with her children and husband.
Move-in story
#2
This next move-in story just impressed the heck out of me, and I was there to see it.
A family was
moving their mother from across the country. Their mom has little long term memory. She is an extraordinary woman
with a wonderful demeanor and personality. Imagine how you might react if you couldn't consciously recall any information.
It is a frightening and frustrating position, which about 40% of our senior population has to deal with. It requires
incredible courage.
Both of her sons and their families came on move-in day. Every time the mom would ask
if it was time to leave, the families would be upset. Our staff is trained to work with memory impaired seniors,
and one popular technique is to redirect their attention on an occasion such as this. However, our staff is also
trained to closely observe the behavior, particularly the emotional state. Because if the emotional state doesn't
change with the redirection, then we haven't solved the problem for the senior. Therefore, we need to cue off of
an individual's emotional response.
While the adult children were tormented each time mom
said it was time to go, our move-in specialist noticed the mother was reacting to a specific stimulus, . . . her
purse. When the mother saw her purse, she picked it up and assumed it was bye-bye time. Our specialist asked
the son to escort his mother to her new room so they could put her purse away. Not only did the mother not ask to leave
again, after placing the purse in her new room, she asked if she could retire early because it had been a long day.
An hour later, their mom peacefully tucked into her new bed, two teary-eyed adult brothers took turns thanking us
profusely for making the day go so well.
BayView Assisted Living * 3219 Canon St * San Diego* CA * 92106 * Phone: (877) 259-8902
Fax: (619) 225-1080
BayView Senior Assisted Living is Licensed by the State of California, #374601348
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