The Healing Touch of Pet Therapy

As Seen in NW Retirement Magazine!

Truth is our emotional and physical well-being is closely linked. Does it not make sense that people who are ill or disabled would recover faster or be more at ease if they had something to look forward to, to laugh about or to cuddle with? It is a well known fact that the patient’s emotional state often takes a back seat to standard medical procedures.

As a pet owner, you know that animals can have a positive effect on the physical and psychological well being of individuals of all ages.

Having a pet brings out feelings of comfort, love and excitement. Your pet is there to comfort you when you are sad and greet you when you come home. Nobody else can show you the level of unconditional love and loyalty like a pet can. So it is not surprising to know that having a pet can offer great health benefits.

Imagine how you would feel if you and your pet are forced apart? The feelings of sadness, frustration and concerns are the result of when an individual is required to move into a nursing or care home where they will be separated from their pet. They may experience distress knowing that the pet is no longer a part of their lives. Wouldn’t that be devastating to you? This is why Pet Therapy is so important to their well being.

Nursing and care homes can quickly become a very lonely and boring place to be Residents become withdrawn and can even suffer from depression. The introduction of pet therapy means that these people have something to look forward to. Knowing that today is “pet therapy day” brings joy to these people.

“A little boy was lying in his hospital bed, staring at the ceiling. He shuffled over and the dog jumped up on the bed next to the boy and snuggled against him. Tears started streaming from the child’s eyes as he reached out to pet the dog. All he needed in that moment was a hug.”

Interacting with therapy pets brings on a significant improvement to the resident’s health. Their quality of life improves, as does their sense of well-being.

Improvements shown may include:

* Lower Blood Pressure
* Reduced Cholesterol
* Reduced Stress
* Reduced Anxiety
* Improved Self-esteem
* Improved Quality of Life
* A Better Sense of Well-being
* Improved Dexterity
* A Sense of Belonging and Connection

In fact, research has shown that patients who owned a pet were most likely to be alive a year after a heart attack than those without pets.

Also, it was determined that only 6 percent of heart patients who owned pets died within a year compared with 28 percent of people who did not.

Would seeing changes and results like these not make your heart swell with love and amazement? By bringing pet therapy into your facility, you can create these changes.

Specially trained Therapy Pets can either take up residence in nursing and care homes, or they are taken to visit to a facility. The patients and residents are encouraged to stroke, play, and cuddle the animal. Interactions such as these often result in the improved physical health and mental well-being of the patient – and the animals enjoy it too!

During a pet therapy session residents might be asked to do such activities as brushing the animal’s fur, or giving the dog a command. Such tasks allow the residents to exercise their physical, emotional, cognitive and social abilities. But most of all, a pet therapy session gives the residents someone warm and fuzzy to cuddle – a loving recipient of their affection.

A well organized pet therapy program benefits everyone. It gives volunteers the opportunity to provide a well-appreciated service to the community, the animals enjoy getting out into the community, and of course the patients benefit both psychologically and physiologically. They feel loved and special for that is what comes naturally to the animals. They have an intuitive nature and it reflects upon everyone around them. Animals make people smile and feel better…period.

Although dogs are the most popularly used pets in these programs, other animals may also be used. Pet owners or any pet program may include cats, guinea pigs, birds and rabbits.

So why not give it a try? Become a volunteer or suggest such a program in your facility. The results will be amazing!

For more articles on Senior and Care Homes please visit my webpage at www.NicoleGruendl.com or for more information on how I can support you and your facility http://CareHomeCoaching.NicoleGruendl.com

God Bless all of our furry friends;

Nicole Gruendl
Expert in creating a harmonious and peaceful workplace

Coaching and Care Home Conflicts

In any environment where there are people interacting with one another, there will be conflict. We are naturally programmed to go into self defense mode when we feel threatened, whether it be emotional or physical. Seniors or individuals who are used to living independently are no exceptions to that rule.

They are placed in an environment where the choices were not always their own. They have lost the option of when they wake up, eat, or even go to sleep. They have lots all sense of independence and responsibility. Accidents happen, health issues arise, and the fact that they just cannot take care of themselves any longer. This is when the decisions are made for them and now they find themselves in such facilities as your own. This is when disgruntled patients come into play.

Caregivers, some more trained than others, are now faced with such patients. There will be conflicts of interest between the staff and the patients as well as between the co-workers. Many times, the administrators and managers will support their staff and will attempt to sort things out but sometimes there is just too much tension and tempers flare just a little too easy. At other times, however, outside help may be necessary to resolve the conflict within the staff so that they, in turn can ease the tension with the patients. This is where one calls in a mediator and coach.

You may ask why you need to call in a mediator coach if you can handle the situations yourself. Mediation coaching requires someone who is qualified in this field and has the tools to address the problems in a professional manner. Being familiar and having the experience with care home facilities is a major asset for it’s supports in understanding the pressure and chaos that can arise from such an environment. The largest request that we have as coaches etc is that everyone must be a willing candidate for change. More often than not members tend to play the blame game and feel that they should not be involved in such meetings. It’s not their fault, they have no issues, you get the idea. The fact of the matter is this, many of the staff members then to bring their work home with them and vice versa.

If there is conflict at home, it reflects in their work and with their peers. A grudge with a family member can easily be taken out on a patient of another employee. This may not be intentional, but it happens. Unfortunately, it happens more often than not. The conflicts that arise between the employee’s themselves is also a big factor and this cannot go unnoticed or unattended.

The main object to all of this is to clear the resentment, the anger, the fear and all the emotions, no matter where they stem from, and create a wonderful and more loving working environment for all. This ability to push through the objectivity from the staff and create open communication comes with time and experience which is a very useful technique to manage conflict in long-term care settings. This may be something that the administrators and staff managers may not have enough of.
It would also mean that you would have to be completely neutral which makes things a little trying for this conflict has been presented to you previously. You have already been jaded.
Damage control is a serious issue and working with the members to subdue the damage is not a feat that is easily handled. Sometimes it comes from a situation derived from personal issues but can also come from a simple confrontation between two employees.

One final note; every position held in a care facility is a very responsible one indeed. The patients will not always be cooperative or easy to handle but it is the staff’s responsibility to make it as easy as possible for them and for their peers to resolve any issue that may arise.

If the staff is there for the patients, who is there for the staff? You as an administrator or director can only do so much and handle so many conflicts before this too will take a toll on you. Call in some help and you’ll be happy you did!

For more information about Care Home Coaching and my services please visit:
Nicole Gruendl
Life and Success Coach
CareHomeCoaching.NicoleGruendl.com

Best Practices for Care Home Safety

Living longer or needing extensive support can be a mixed blessing. Sometimes the chronically ill or frail individuals who may need assistance with the basic functions of living are led to reside in a facility such as a care, nursing or rehabilitation home. Many dependent elderly or not so elderly become extended care facility residents, where their physically demanding needs are both a challenge and a hazard to nursing aides and other caregivers.

Care home staff are caring individuals and often place more emphasis on patient safety issues than their own. Such circumstances have led to employees sustaining frequent and often severe workplace injuries, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Nationally, care home workers have experienced injuries and illnesses at an alarming rate. BLS reported in 2006 that for Standard Industrial Code 8050, the extended-care facility injury and illness incident rate was 9.8 in comparison with a private industry incident rate of 4.4. This fact is largely why BWC’s Division of Safety & Hygiene and numerous federal agencies have focused on the extended-care facility industry for accelerated hazard-control activities.

There are many reasons for the high injury and illness rates in such facilities. Injuries occur due to the high incidence of resident transfers. According to the BLS:

• Nursing home workers suffer most injuries when handling residents (51.2 percent);
• Fifty-eight percent of their injuries were strains and sprains;
• While back injuries account for 27 percent of all injuries in the private sector, they account for 42 percent in nursing homes;
• One of the 10 occupations with the highest number of injuries and illnesses,

In addition, according to BWC statistics, back injuries average more than $23,000 in workers’ compensation expenses.

In some facilities, residents are completely dependent on staff members to provide for their daily living activities. Recent hospital trends indicate these facilities send older, more dependent patients to extended-care facilities for care in an attempt to cut rising hospital costs. The nurses’ aides are those workers who primarily assist residents with their daily needs which in turn creates repetition in actions, movement and more strain.

Care facilities dedicated to quality resident care, and maintaining a quality and stable work force, have risks inherent to the business that have been controlled. Attention to risk factors and controls, a strong management commitment, involvement of the employees, strong and regular safety awareness training, and progressive claims management are commonalties in these institutions.

Here are some ideas on how you can help create a better and safer work environment for your staff:

-The administrator advises safety with coaching and mentoring with visibility being the key. By being in a group program it reduces strain and pressure on everyone…Everyone helping everyone

-Administrators need to be out helping staff to gain the opportunity to see the problems of staff members.

-Senior managers must personalize the work environment and get to know their employees, and treat them like family;

-Get people involved and take injury prevention seriously

-Team-lift policies prevent individual handling by any one employee.

-Regulations are not a terrible imposition; accept them and build for these minimum standards. Try to reach excellence in daily operations. Make everyone feel like a part of the team and be genuine in your efforts

-Be sure to show injured workers that management cares about them

-Management values employee suggestions and acts upon them in a timely manner

By working with your team this way it shows them respect, concern and your the ability to lead a team in a powerful and caring manner. This leads to several positive changes in the work environment as well, such as:
“Reductions in injury frequency and severity Improvements in employee/management communications, Heightened safety awareness, Employee morale, attitude and productivity improved and they share common accomplishments.”

All of this needs to begin from the top. The team leaders, administrator and managers. Your commitment gives you in return a commitment from them which then reflects upon the safety and patient care. By you providing a visible and active voice in all the process, this gives them the opportunity to follow a great example. Regular meetings for staff moral and support, with a team lead and a coach is more productive than any book one can read. It’s hand on and they feel included and they feel more important. They are being heard.
You are giving them the assurance that they are someone and not just another “employee” and that your being a part of a healthy team means so much to them.

Be sure as a team lead to compensate them when possibilities arise.
This does not necessarily mean that they should have an increase in pay, some programs offer recognition for a job well done with awards ranging from simple praise to monetary incentives for completion of goals.

It is your responsibility to maintain a mission that includes quality care for residents and workers.

Be safe!
Nicole Gruendl
www.NicoleGruendl.com