Some loved ones and volunteers think that visiting nursing home residents is a purely social call. They want to remind residents that they are still loved and decrease their loneliness. They want to check on how loved one are doing in very general ways so they can report back to relatives, church members, colleagues, coordinators, and others about a simple level of patient progress to soften their worries. What they often don’t do, in addition to socializing, is see themselves as healthcare advocates who should be seriously evaluating the quality of residents’ lives in terms of appearance, conversation, environment, interactions with others, and unmet needs. What’s really important is that visitors and volunteers have a clear understanding of their roles as active patient advocates.
People will have personal approaches as to how they can most effectively serve as patient advocates with visits more than social. I write about my true observations of visits by a caregiver named Lonnetta in my book. She always impressed me with the seriousness of how she viewed her role as visitor and caregiver whenever she dropped by to see her sister. While I would not recommend Lonnetta’s approach for everyone, it worked for her. She was laser-focused on the fact that, above all, she was there as an advocate for improving the quality of life of Sister, her loved one. After reading about Lonnetta, you can think of some advocacy strategies that will work for you. (Continued at link below)
http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2014/07/visiting-volunteering-advocates-for.html
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