The job of a charge nurse implies that among other skills, the nurse should be clinically competent and possess good communication skills. Many elderly people, as well as their family members, are exposed to fears of being placed in nursing homes. At this point, the charge nurse should be able to comfort people by helping them obtain detailed information about the situation and other possible options.
Elderly people are likely to develop chronic diseases and it is difficult to say how long care would be needed. In the current case, it is crucial to explain to Suzanne that there are different options, apart from placing her mother in a nursing home. In case her mother will need placement in a nursing home, it is crucial to explain its organizational structure to avoid misconceptions (Silvestre, Bowers & Gaard, 2015).
Long-term care assists people with functioning and enables them to function as independently as possible. Many long-term care organizations offer facilities for recreation apart from health care. Often people need long-term care for successful rehabilitation; the length of stay usually depends on the progression of the recovery and the general condition (Silvestre, Bowers & Gaard, 2015). Depending on the social, mental, or functional needs, people may need to be moved to institutions. Different types of long-term care facilities provide different services; however, all of them provide support for a successful adaptation of a person and create homelike environments. The nursing homes have implemented the patient-centered care system, and the dedicated staff provides for its successful implementation in a secure environment.
In case there is no need for institutionalizing, families should be informed about community-based and respite services that enable elderly people to meet their health needs and assist caregivers. Apart from that, adult day centers provide eight hours per day care and enable the participant to live with their family. The centers provide therapies and rehab programs, while participant can still live with their families. They ensure family-centered care while promoting coordination. If people have enough social and economic support, their need for a long-term care facility can be delayed or avoided.
In the current case, it is difficult to assess whether the elderly woman has been abused or neglected. However, it is evident that the caregiver has failed to fulfill his obligation because this patient was taken to the hospital with another injury two weeks prior. It is necessary to determine whether the woman is in danger by assessing the situation correctly.
After checking her for any physical signs of abuse, the nurse should interview the patient and the caregiver independently in a secure and private environment (Falk, Baigis & Kopac, 2012). Apart from that, the nurse should check the patient’s mental condition and find out if she has faced any disturbing occurrences lately or has been forced to do something she did not want to. According to the case, the caregiver appears to be extremely stressed; consequently, the nurse should find out if the patient is the source of the stress and whether the caregiver needs support. Besides obtaining the information from both parties, the nurse should identify any inconsistencies in the interviews.
After examining the patient and the caregiver, the nurse should inform the latter about the possible options of receiving assistance in taking care of his grandmother. He should be informed about local respite care agencies and adult day care programs that provide help in taking care of the elderly people (Falk, Baigis & Kopac, 2012). Additionally, the nurse may provide information about support groups for caregivers of the elderly. It is important to mention that preventing the negative incident is better and easier than dealing with its consequences.
Besides informational support, it is obligatory to notify authorized reporting agency or other adult protective services to ensure the safety of the woman, as well as document the findings according to the organizational policy, as they might be used in the future proceedings.
References
Falk, N. L., Baigis, J., & Kopac, C. (2012). Elder mistreatment and the elder justice act. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 17(3), 7.
Silvestre, J.H., Bowers, B. J., & Gaard, S. (2015). Improving the quality of long-term care. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 6(2), 52–56.