Forgive me blog, for I have sinned. its been nearly a month since my last post.  That coincides perfectly with the amount of time our agency has been understaffed.  Though all of us want to freeze admissions to catch up, no one wants to deny someone who desires end of life care.  Illness and vacations have drained us of staff at a time when our census is at a record high. The perfectionist in me who cherishes perfect customer service has gotten irritable and defensive when things fall through the cracks because  of it.  I don’t want to “bump” a routine visit for someone new when our census is like this. I feel that we should continue to take excellent care of the patients we have now at our usual top tier level of service. On the other hand, I want to help everyone.

Increasing revenue is necessary, of course.  Of equal importance is preserving our reputation and staying in regulatory compliance, but we will do both of those things because that’s what nurses do.  We keep up. We will see all of the patients we need to and we will be engaged and present with each one.  The stuff that does drop off our plates will likely go unnoticed by them and their families because it will be things like the finishing touches on our documentation, our rest, our hobbies and our family time. And, obviously, our blogging time.  It is not forever but it does make an emotional withdrawal from the bank of the spirit each time we are unable to do all that we want to for each of our patients. Our team and managers hope we don’t lose anyone.  We talk about that with each other. We say things and pretend we are joking, like “you’re not going to tear your hair out and quit or anything right?  Are you okay?”  That is code for “please be okay and don’t ever leave.” This is a wonderful job.  It’s hard and most of us love it.  I am new-ish but everyone else has been on the team for years. More than a few as many as twenty.  What each member needs, really, is a day off to catch up, and a day off to rest.  Then, our team would be back and running in top form. (Maybe when it slows down a bit.) Thankfully, we are all still sticking together the way we agreed to.  We have the support of an excellent manager, our medical director and each other and we will get through this, hopefully, the way an actor notices he’s flubbed a line but the audience doesn’t.  The work of the hospice team, is, after all, a performing art.

 

Updates on Ingrid and Fredda:  Ingrid has decided to revoke hospice and pursue treatment and we are rooting for her.  She went into the hospital for a surgical consult for her wound and we do not know where she went from there.  I hope to cross paths with her again some day and I hope she gets to see Joe Bonemassa live in concert.

Fredda is having ups and downs.  I visit her more frequently now because she is weaker and a little scared.  She feels secure with even 15 minutes of emotional support in person.  That’s an easy way to make someone more comfortable. Her symptoms of pain and vomiting are under control and her family has come together to care for her.  She says she is in a good place emotionally if not so much physically as she puts it.