Career Nursing Assistants Network of N. Carolina

Under Staffing in Our Health Care Workplaces is Patient and Resident Abuse. If you agree it is abuse, when why is it, that North Carolina has no State law to address this problem? Why are Career Nursing Assistants asked to care for the Mentally Ill patients without the training and without the money? Why are CNA�s given work assignment of 16 to 30 patients and residents. In North Carolina the average Certified Nursing Assistants (C.N.A.) makes $7.50 an hour. Our State has announced that we will soon close two Mental Health Hospital. In most of our states, the cost of caring for the mentally Ill has been past down to the community. This is call deinstitutionalation. Yes! Many patients can be and should be care for in their communities. Let�s talk about the patient diagnosed with Alzheimer�s, Manic Depressive and Schizophrenic. They are sometime violent and dangerous to themselves, to other resident, and to untrained staff. The State saves labor cost and operation cost by closing Hospital beds. The patient comes to the community, where they are exposed to alcohol and drugs. Once addition occurs the client (once mental patient) become homeless, because of few dual diagnosed homes the help them. The only inpatient bed with trained staff is now closed. Many find a place in our jails and prisons. We the taxpayers pick up the cost. Once the client has a medical problem and goes the hospital. Medicaid and Medicare places them in our Counties Nursing Homes. How the resident (once client, once mental health patients) is in and environment with untrained staff and defenseless resident. How with State budget cuts the monies promise to be past down is cut and Nursing Homes can�t provide the needed services for this special resident (once mental heath patient, once mental health client, and how special resident. These residents are often dangerous to themselves and the other. This created an environment of intimidation, unreasonable confinement, and mental anguish. Our State don�t have the political will to address this problem because the cost how fall on the counties and nursing homes. � It�s about money, not caring for the least of these�. North Carolina rules for patient and resident care says that �The facility shall ensure that each patient receives adequate supervision and assistance to prevent accidents and abuse is willful, infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation or punishment with resulting physical harm or mental anguish. In a report, ordered by Congress and prepared by the U.S. Department and Human Services found �strong and compelling� evidence that health care facility with low ratio of nursing personnel to patients were more likely to provide substandard care. Patients and Residents in these facilities were more likely to experience bedsores, malnutrition, weight loss, dehydration, pneumonia and serious blood �borne infections, the report said. In most facilities, the report said, a patient needs an average of 4.1 hours of care each day �2.8 hours from Certified Nursing Assistants and 1.3 hours from registered nurses or licensed practical nurses. Dr. John F. Schnelle, an co-author of the report, said the recommendation would require facilities to have one Certified Nursing Assistants for every five or six resident. Career Nursing Assistants Network believe that all patients and residents deserve courteous, professional appropriate care and quality of life within every healthcare system, and nursing homes, hospital, and health care facilities administrators are responsible for scheduling the trained staff to provide quality care for Patients and Residents. We also believe that realistic staffing levels are paramount in protecting patient and residents from injury, confinement, and mental anguish, Career Nursing Assistants are instrumental in promoting and safeguarding the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the patients and residents. When understaffing of Nursing Assistants occurs it is Patient and Resident Abuse.

Follow-ups:

• RE: Understaffing is Patients and Resident Abuse.    Rich (5/7/2002 7:57:31 PM)
• RE: RE: Understaffing is Patients and Resident Abuse.    Melvin Whitley (5/7/2002 9:21:38 PM)