The Ant and the Lion

How true Jason, that's what happened to our nursing home in the end, it had an really good reputation at one time, I credit that to its supervisors actually having on- the- job expereince and education from the worker level on upward. so we didn't have to have to be asked what  our problems were...we already knew them ....and we were able to get the place certified as an specialty out-pateint hospital by doctor referrals also..mostly the elderly that needed long term care for an injury beyond just an short hospital stay. But then it happened, we had hired an physical therapist, and she needed assistants...one of keeping records and one for therapy work...which knocked into the nursing staff and their routine...they couldn't do it and already wanting more wages, they called in an union, feeling deprived of more helpers for their work routines...so the main managers, rather then giving an dime extra and less profit, gettin more help maybe..telling the therapist to handle things differently beside sit in an chair an "bark" orders...brought in an company evaluation team..whom in my estimation were simply thugs..along with the union..one really deserved the other...and they needed to be in jail to tell you the truth.  By the time they got done cutting down patient needs, helping them, the private patients started leaving, by the time the union supplanted the flu bug killing several of our staffing and pateints, calling in the state health department, our nursing home was closing doors from all the "cost" it was being made to absorb...it was an tight budget to begin with. These hosptial "experts" sat down and asked all of us supervisors what our department needed, then went out an built an new facilty...with them in mind...they still "lost" because our ideas were geared for our working conditions...not others. I  will tell you now that "cut-backs" are only necessary when your not being made to live budget-wise to begin with...that is how I entered the place, by seeing an lot of "waste" going on myself...that I knew could be trimmed andworkign codntions easier. Daily I was working with an "gal" that used an metal ash tray to smoke while putting the clothes through an "extractor" to take water out of the clothing so it would dry faster...she would set it on the motor to the fan belt...where if it tipped over and went into the fan belt, it could possibly slice our legs off at any given minute...flying across the room. She left when I became supervisor. That's when I instituted smoking on "breaks" only. She also took the patients gowns an "rolled " them in little balls. We then slapped them on the cart out to the nursing facilty, in an wadded up little bundle. ...that I stopped...I also stopped "human waste" from being ran through the regular linens, and my equiptment because aides were to lazy to do their jobs..in that case we made the RN's responsible to see it was cleaned up before they left their job that day, they had no problem retraingin the girls on the floor....I also stopped food from being placed on clean linen carts, I simply wiped it off an on to the floor so loud, when everyone came "running" I simply said.."sorry.. I couldn't get the clean clothes where they needed to be". What I did for the nurse's aides though was sit down an figured out how we could fold the bedding to that it could be unfolded and "in place" when they used it(My Red Cross training)...without having to be shook out first...exposing it to possible air-born germs. We also made the LPN's into our "med nurses" and did the chart work for the nurse's adies to cut down their work...aides simply had to check mark off and sign they had done such and such for what pateints that day. I devised an way to cover my carts if they were clean, and I covered the carts if they were dirty...my girls were the first to use gloves when handling dirty clothing. I was the first one to implant "Isolation procedures" for linen care in the case of bed sores, staph or anything else that infectious.I did not permit them to put the dirty clothes on the floor if it wasn't necessary for some reason...such as looking for something specific. I for the most part prohibited it due to possible cross-contamination. I also was writing their first employee trainee books and first books of procedures, and worker postiions. Because our department did not have air conditioning I was the first one to ask for screening to be placed on our loading dock doors at the time also, so my girls would not have to work in 100 plus degrees, I also swtiched hours, so that they did not work in the hot summer afternoons. Other things I did were to "fold" and stack the patient gowns, to separate each type of linen on the carts for easy grabbing. I did not allow the staffing into my department unless they were authorized by higher personel to do so. The first day I worked there as an supervisor was the first day I washed the windows in the laundry, dusted down the equiptment, and and cleaned out the laundry vents for lint in the dryers in three years since they had opened the nursing home. It was the first time the pateints were made to have their clothes tagged with their name on it, and something arranged if they needed items dry cleaned/sewn "weekly" before they were admitted...I had an "morning report give to me daily of pateints they had moved, or needed special care...another first for me.  By then I also had two rooms of linens I did not know whom belong to whom stacked and locked shut sitting there...that room was cleaned out and made into an new  break room. Which allowed the back area to have their own break room closer to their work area....which allowed the nursing staff to also play tapes/have morning reports before working  and  at times to enhance nruses' aides education so they could be "certified" for free, without having to go to an local college class and paying for it. I also was the first one with the adminsitrator to have an formal book for inventory of goods and purchasing periodically. I also handled hiring an training my own employees, and their work schedules. I was required to attend all meetings. I was working with the same staffing off 104 pateints as I was with 85 when I first was hired there. Of those 104 pateints, over 2/3 of them were private paying and not welfare...in fact by the time we left, we had no welfare, only the one's still lving at the time I was hired. I also rotated my girls, so we had one Friday and Saturday off, one weekend off, one Sunday and Monday off and one weekend work per month. I was attending college nights and taking small business classes and supervisory and had a bit of pyschology tossed in also. For all that...they "Lost" the place from the dudes I talked about.....in the beginning of this post...whne we supervisors slowly left...the place was taken out. Why did we leave?...most of us knew when they built the other facitly they had no intentions of ever helping us amke th eplace better...that they would indeed eventually sell it out to whomever.  I feel when it becomes that "Money" becomes of an higher value then pride in your job and its satisfaction...is when the place comes down, next to frilly uncecessary things. Yes, people have to have an reliable working wage to make it in life or they have to leave for better jobs. Even I understood that much. Most single gals or men in nursing with families, they need "free" paid family medical care...I don't find it something to be overlooked for everyone...even the self-employed these days...besides an workable decent adequate wage.  What I find is unneceaary are the trumped up over-costs of something simple....like being charged $5 for one asprin. High "set" fees for medicine deemed necessary to "life" illnesses. Pharmacies own enough "investments" to make money elsewhere to cover costs of making pills and keeping their costs down, you know something is wrong when the pills can be sent out to other countries and imported back in...and half the cost ...one of mine last year was sued for not allowing an generatic to be made and holding an monopoly on costs. Do you think that ambulance care is worth the same price for an airline ticket to Europe?...$800....and is not covered by health insurance...and the hospital is but 10 miles away, if that...when in an non-emergency situation. Simply an "transport" situation. I felt cheated, I know my family was in thier care trying to pay for this. I would of went by car, it was my doctor insisted I had to go by ambulance...saying he wanted to make sure I "got" there.  This is different from being in an serious accident where by your with medical teams fighting to save your life all the way to the hospital...I could see where the cost might be more,,but even then, don't you think it should be paid for ????  As they say..I have to sue you for an million dollars to pay off everyone so I can walk out the door and have an "life" there after with all the fee's that were imposed. That is what the medical society is giving us over here...and what if you don't have someone to sue?...what if its simply an illness or disease of some kind...your helpless. Why should they take th ehouses away from people whom already own them for medical costs that are necessary....severla states have implentnet laws that now say they can't do that...they all should say it...because taking away ones livabilty is agsint the Consititution...and shouldn't someone besides the DRug Cartels be able to be helped by our Constitituion in the persuit of freedom and happiness?  I was called an "bitch" by some getting the above instituted and into action when I was an supervisor....and for what I got out of it...no pension. No Ira. I guess I volunteered by work in the area of doing something for the Lord maybe?  I reember when I was called in and they asaked me if I'd take the housekeeping dept on as well and the Laundry and I said "no"...I have never worked in it, and it would be esaier to make one of their own employees the supervisor, I can not do two jobs at once...and do an good job. For the omost part the things I implemented cost the nursing home not much in comparison to its over an better place either. 

 Now you know why we are having problems here, its nearly every place you look....I can remeber days when we were told to please the customer...he pays for an service. Now I hear "cashiers" say, I don' t care what the customer wants...he/she don' t have to shop here if he or she is unhappy...maybe they should nto shop there, but then again, maybe its an thign of "discrimination" to begin with. Banks never had the problems they do with fraud when they know thier own customers as easily...or idenity theft.  I know my banker, first hand, have for some time now. But anyway, I didn't come in here to get started off on this....just something that "happened" what I came in for. was to tell you people that over in another web site, its all but gone "bonkers"...and I don't know for sure if this is really the webmaster reporting this or not....but he says "Rock" who comes in as just the sweetest...funny...nicest dude ..but also steals bandwidth from everyone on nothing really to informative...has been traced down to an "Mikkel Refstgaard"....I don' t if responsible for some time as to my personal computer problem or not. But our web site over there has been "Hacked" into...even though I've been having problems for some time now. Most the other web masters are in "Protection Mode" right now...he impersonates others, etc, the whole smear of things not to do on the web.

The place I worked for was bought out by another larger care facilty with many other nursing homes under their care, currently being sued by families because for top dollar paid out monthly the families have lost their loved ones to unhooked up "emergency" buzzers/lights and in one case it worked, the nursing staff just didn't show up...one patient was saved because his family had issued the patient an cell phone for calling 911 emergency...that staffing apparently didn't know about. In one case the patient had signed papers to "let him die" should an situation be made to where he wasn't doing so well, well the nursing home pulled the life supports, even though he was showing signifant improvement at teh hospital..and the courts backed up their authority to do so....that family is suing also.  So now you allknow what "legalized" murder really is these days. 

Jason...I wanted you to know that I tend to be drawn to you because of an "kid" I know named Jason...I was thinking about that last night an bit. One reason I always ask how your doing when you do show up..this particular kid had parents with an huge country house, and an 20 foot bar and was alone most the time...to impresss his "peers"  he'd let them in to enjoy all his parents hard work..and was getting next to an teenage "alcoholic"....I had quite an "round" with him, he was also an kid that played in an tv program when he was an kid in California, and got paid off it every time it aired somewhere on TV...so he had money. His idea of what an friend was, and did, at his age was not mine...though I caught him in time before he went down the street from the cliiffs over-hang an near by river to jump off it...by then he was "crying" trying to cope with things, "sincerely"...and his dad, who had caught up with him in what was going on, he was scared to death of  for some reason..   Another time of one of my private little "talks" going on. I told him we would always be his friend and be there, but not in the route he was taking right now, because he was not even an friend to himself in ways, and deserved better in life..he had to meet me half way. You can not buy your troubles and people off with money...though it certainly helps in some ways. I think he did need an REAL friend back then.  I do not know what happened after that, though I heard he went on and graduated from High School, he had everything to live for, if he'd just understood how to do something with it beside trying to play "king" of the party all the time..and get headed into trouble. I use to say considerable "prayers" for him though...in getting help to him. It was from those prayers and friends he and we all knew  that I met an guy the kids called "Stoner" Chris because he looked an lot like "Jesus". The kids always said if anyone could help Jason, it would be "Stoner"Chris...I sure hope that came about. Jason's biggest problem I think was no one could say "no" to him and mean it. He immediately bought out the money to buy them off in freindship...until it came to me and my family. I would prefer to think he had an better future then the one he was headed for...but guess I'll never know now. He broke into my house one day while I was shopping...and I came home to find him here with another kid and a couple of gals.."Playing" adults, smoking ciggarettes, he had burned an hole into my "new" $500 rocker-recliner. I said, is my son here?..he said no, he's at school...I said how you get in here, he said I let myself in...I said..don't ever do it again Jason...this is not your "Playland" kiddo...You burnt my chair...and it cost me money, an lot of  it for our wages. He said, just tell my mom and dad, they will get their lawyer to send you an residual, I said, that's not the problem, but you are an traitor to your parents "kindness" in assuming they can pick up the tab for YOUR bad actions...come on, send the girls back to school, your going to your house. I'm taking you there...along with your friend. We get going to his house, and he says, I don't understand you, I said I'd pay you for the chair if that's the problem...I said Jason, and slammed the car to an stop...you live about an three mile walk from here, I want you to think some things over..while you finsih walking to your house, I come and get you when you say your alone, I treat you as part of our family when your around, I have put up an couple of times your drinking an barffing over my house that I had no idea you were doing....until your sick, I think it's time you grrew up...really grew up and started thinking about your responsibilty in life...it's not to be the youngest drunk and "asshole" on the block. This is not about the damage you did...this is about the freindship your giving out. An true friend does not break into another's house to "party" with others, an true friend does not damage another good's ..even if he can pay for it..he respects one's house enough to take care of it while visiting it....I am good enough to drive you this far, on what little money I have...now, you get out...walk home and figure out in your head what an "real" freind is these days...that is if you want real freinds..and not something you have to "buy" like you do at an grocery store. Out Jason,,,but I ..I ..out kiddo, you have "had it" with me. You walk, and you think about what you have done today, and what you have made of your life today and for others. Next time I saw him, he was getting ready to go jump off that cliff and we had another talk. This time about facing up to one's mistakes and changing them again...and that killling oneself hurts others and is bascially "selfish" also. But I told hiim, my door is open any time you wanna "change" you know. When you find yourself and be whom you really are instead of an "fake" rebelrouser type of the worst kind.  I always hoped he made the grade in that also.  You know what I found out..working parents know little about their kids, and their kids are smart enough to let it be that way also..when they aren't doing what they should be doing. Deep down he was an decent kid, once he got past the using everyone and everthing for his pleasure to impress others. But anyway. I wanted you to know that, your very name brings back an lot of memories to me.