Dear Editor,
I read with interest your most recent article covering the Shepherd’s Care workers walk to inform the public of their situation with their employer. My parents have resided at Shepherd’s Care for the last 10 months. Various family members, as well as myself and my husband, have spent much time there, visiting and helping our parents, as well as mingling with the other residents.
We, as family members, expect our loved ones to be cared for in a loving way. We expect them to be talked to with respect, to be listened to, and to be acknowledged with friendly greetings and conversation. We expect their concerns to be addressed in a timely manner and with empathy. We want not only their physical needs, but also their emotional needs taken into account. We want them to be safe. We want them to have activities to engage in. In short, we want them to feel like they are at home, even though many of them are far from their own home.
As family, we expect to be informed if our loved ones need us, if something changes, or if they fall ill. We expect care plans put in place will be followed. We expect safety precautions, such as call buttons, to be working. We expect meals and snacks to be available, nutritious and tasty. We expect to be able to call staff if we have a concern, to express that concern and to have feedback on it.
We also expect that various levels of health care – home care, the hospital, doctors and Shepherd’s Care in the area, will maintain open, honest communication with each other and with families, and provide co-ordinated care for the best outcomes for residents of DAL.
Whenever any of these expectations are not met, it is often the frontline workers - the care providers - who deal with the questions, the worry and subsequent frustration from family members, even though in most cases it is something quite beyond their control. Care workers need a friendly disposition, an infinite amount of patience, an ability to multi-task, to work under pressure and to constantly assess situations. They need to remember who needs what, when.
They need to serve meals and snacks, clean rooms, do laundry, distribute pills, give showers, dress and toilet residents, porter many of them to and from activities and meals, and answer numerous bells. They need to maintain a positive state of mind and demonstrate a friendly manner, while working with residents who are dealing with the emotion and sadness of their own declining memory and/or physical challenges. Their well being is so important in them being able to look after the well being of our loved ones.
I wish I could have been here during their information walk. I would most certainly have taken part in it. Care workers need to be supported. They need to be respected, appreciated, and thanked for all their efforts. They definitely deserve a more fair outcome from their negotiations. The importance of a well-cared-for DAL resident – Priceless.
Candice Averill
Onoway
