Residents’ decisions may not always seem like the best idea; that’s OK

    A question that I often get challenged with as an ombudsman is a resident’s right vs. safety. Many long-term care facilities are engrained with keeping residents safe, as it should be. However, when residents make a decision regarding their care and it may not be what others would chose, it remains their decision, and they have the right, ability and focus to make that happen.
    Not long ago I was presented with a resident who was unsafe in walking. He used a walker and often fell into the things. His wife wanted him to begin using a wheelchair and have staff push him to his destinations. She was fearful that he would fall and seriously injure himself and possibly others. When speaking with this gentleman, he said he was not ready to give up and “sit down.” He wanted to continue to walk for as long as he could.
    He was presented with the risks and consequences of what a fall may do if he broke a bone. He remained diligent in his focus of continuing to walk to activities, meals and get his exercise. Even though this decision may not have been what his wife wished (or other loved ones), it was his decision and his right. He continues to use his walker with a smile on his face.
    Another situation may be one like this: A woman takes many medications, and she is just tired of taking all these pills every day. She wants to stop taking some. Her family knows that if she stops certain pills, there is a good chance she will have a medical situation, with an outcome that could be devastating. She was presented with the risks of stopping some of her medications by her physician, but she continued to make her wishes known, they were followed by the facility, and her loved ones respected them.

The full article is available in our e-Edition. Click here to subscribe.