Nursing Home Safety Action Plan

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Working on the Telemetry floor I do not encounter death very often. I have taken care of patients with end stage diseases several times and have seen people go through the process of death. Each situation was unique and each patient had to be treated in a unique way. I believe that there is a way of making death a “good death.” I am very comfortable with death and with patients and their families being able to voice their own opinions. I am fortunate to work with two wonderful palliative nurses in our hospital that help to guide the nurses, physicians, patients and families through the process. They inspired me to take a training on end-of-life care which I completed just couple of weeks ago. It opened my eyes to this topic in many ways. I…show more content…
Thomas, check the lighting, throw rugs, stairs, bath mat, accessibility (high cabinets, low toilet seats), tub bars etc. (Geriatric Fast Facts, 2013). There is a nice handy checklist online (A Place for Mom, 2011). Patients with cancer may receive inadequate analgesia due to underestimation and underreporting of pain, although the case study does not indicate if Mrs. Thomas belongs to any minority that lowers her chance of getting adequate pain medicine (Bernabei, et al, 1998). Many people may have inadequate knowledge about pain and disproportionate fear of addiction (Bernabei, et al, 1998). In fact, elderly individuals have fewer possible contraindications to the use of opiates than younger people (Bernabei, et al, 1998). The nature and severity of pain should be carefully evaluated, and psychosocial and emotional factors should be identified. Besides pain medication (aspirin, Tylenol, NSAIDs such as Motrin or Advil, opioids such as Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Morphine, Hydromorphone, and Fentanyl) there are also options that will shrink the tumor such as radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and targeted therapies such as Herceptin (Pain Management.…show more content…
Management of Pain in Elderly Patients with Cancer. JAMA; 279:23, 1877-1882. Retrieved from http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=187650 Breast Cancer. (September 17, 2012) Pain Management. Retrieved from http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/recur_metast/treat_metast/pain_manage Davis, M., Khoshknabi, D., Yue, G. (2006). Management of fatigue in cancer patients. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 10:4; 260-269. Get Palliative Care. (n. d.). What is Palliative Care? Retrieved from http://www.getpalliativecare.org/whatis/ Harris, D., (August 22, 2010). Nausea and vomiting in advanced cancer. British Medical Bulletin. Retrieved from http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/96/1/175.full#ref-7 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. (2013). About HPNA. Retrieved from http://www.hpna.org/DisplayPage.aspx?Title=About%20HPNA Medical College of Wisconsin. (2013). Geriatric Fast Facts: Geriatric Home Safety Evaluation: Can I send this patient home? Retrieved from http://www.mcw.edu/Geriatric-Fast-Facts/Index/gff022.htm Medicare.gov. (2013). Your Medicare Coverage: Hospice and Respite care. Retrieved from

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