la_doble_de_Consuelo

Morning Mr. Offerman! We all know Ron Swanson has only cried twice in his life. Is there anything that makes you cry?

Thanks for doing another AMA!

I see you may be done answering questions so i understand if you don't get to this. But if you do have time, why do the problems of apathetic staff and indifferent administration seem to happen so much more frequently in the LTC setting?

Unfortunately I've recently had a bad experience with an Acute Care LTC that my grandfather had to go to. I know there are LTC facilities that exist on both ends of the spectrum, from phenomenal to terrible. But this place disappointed me from day one. It took days for the staff to finally give him a bath, his skin was on his way to breaking down, and I observed improper technique from respiratory therapists multiple times (improper suctioning and not using sterile technique when she should have). It seemed that this place was understaffed, but not terribly so. The staff seemed to move so slowly too, at least compared to the nurses and aides I see in the hospital I work at. Unfortunately it seems that many others in this country have had bad experiences with an LTC.

My questions are, what problems exist in LTC that make it so easy for issues like these to emerge? Does it all come down to lack of funding? I can see how lack of funding could lead to understaffing, which leads to unrealistic expectations for staff and not all the work getting done, which could lead to burn-out. As a nursing student, I like the idea of someday working LTC as it can be very rewarding to work with older patients, but I can't ever see myself working in a place like the one my grandpa was at. And please don't take this as an attack to you or the area you work in or anything like that! I'm sure this is a very complicated issue.