I believe it was yesterday and I saw an article in the Detroit Free Press that pointed out John DeLorean had predicted General Motors’ demise almost decades earlier. Yes, that DeLorean, whose car was featured in Back To The Future. In a book published in the late seventies, titled On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors, DeLorean shared his frustrations with the corporate beheamoth that GM had become, and amazingly, his main bone of contention was the culture of the company.
Although successful as an employee within the company, being promoted to its flagship brands throughout the years, DeLorean eventually left GM because of the culture he described in his book. Mainly, there was an attitude that GM was too big to need to do improvements, that the GM way was inherently the right way, and the fruitfulness the company enjoyed would never and could never pass away.
We who work in long term care, and especially the nursing home, have been hearing about the need for culture change for almost a decade now! Sure, nursing homes continue to generate income and jobs for those they employ, and with the baby boomers coming into retirement, we should all feel very good about our job security. Or should we?
The percentage of the aged who come into our homes is dramatically decreasing. Funding for Medicare and Medicaid gets tighter almost every budget year. Those that can afford to pay their own way tend to live at other non-medical senior communities, or even just stay at home.
It is a fact, whether we want to admit it or not, that the nursing home has developed a negative stigma within our popular culture. Watch the Simpsons, who almost weekly make a jab at our places of employment through Grandpa Simpson’s “life” at the nursing home. If you’re really brave, why not ask a stranger at the supermarket what they think of going to a nursing home. What do you think they’ll say?
As activity professionals, we stand in a unique place to turn back the tide against the negative stereotypes (most of which aren’t true anymore!) associated with the nursing home. In the past, we’ve been thrown to the side more often than not because we weren’t considered as important as the nurses, or social workers, or psychologists, or occupational therapists. But the activities staff is just as crucial to the care of a resident as these other professionals.
The nurses may heal the wounds, but we can help heal the heart,
The social workers may organize residents’ care schedule, but we can help the resident make sense of their life.
The psychologists can help catch signs of depression and other disorders, but we can help each individual recreate the meaning in their life.
The occupational therapists can help regain the abilities needed for daily living, but we can go beyond, and help make each day meaningful to do those activities again.
You, as an activity professional are CRUCIAL! And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, realize that you cannot do it all on your own, you need to work as a member of a team with the nurses and other staff. But when you help rehabilitate someone and they leave your facility, what do you think they’ll ultimately tell their friends and family about their stay? Will it be about the efficiency of med pass? Will it be about how their weight was measured periodically to make sure they were eating enough? Almost certainly, no.
It will be about how meaningful their life was while they were at your facility. And if we can send home, one by one, residents who felt fulfillment and purpose during their stay, they will tell their family. They will tell their friends. And one by one, we just may change the perception about where we work.
Great job!