Therapies
By: Kathy on: 2017-01-18 21:02:13

Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy  

OT:    Therapists help patients learn to live with their disabilities by supplying such things as wheelchairs, walkers, raised toilet seats, reaching devices and Shoehorns as well as training.

    

PT:  Therapists aim to increase and restore mobility, and to reduce pain.  They decrease accidents or injuries from a fall.

 

RT:  Therapists focus on airways and breathing treatments.  Respiratory Care Therapists may only come in weekly or when called.  The rest of the time the nurses will be taking care of your ventilator and tracheotomy.  Top priority is to keep patients at their best respiration status. 

 

 Are the proper amounts of therapy given in the proper way?  Therapists are limited to time and money allocated.  When the therapists are gone either the nurse or aide will follow their guidelines of care, including taking over minor roles like walking and range of motion.  A gait belt should be used for transferring or walking patients.

 

You may be walked without a gait belt and hurried along, because of reduced staffing.  If you refuse treatments, no one is going to encourage you to try again.   They just mark it off as refused and move on to the next patient.  Not enough time, not enough staff.  

 

 

 

Departments

People directly hired by the nursing home are staff.  They do the laundry, cook the meals, clean up and mow the lawn.   Most of these people will never be allowed into your room, and you may never even see them.  However, their role is critical to the facility.  You will know if they do a poor job as your day to day life will suffer.