Nurses Surrogate Family For The Persons Served At On With Life – The Opinion Tribune

Lara Spencer had never heard of On with Life until just a few years ago.

She was then a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), about to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), when a friend told Spencer, a Kansas-native, about the skilled, long-term care facility on the southside of the Glenwood Resource Center campus.

She applied soon after, was offered and accepted the job and has never once regretted her decision since.

I loved the way they ran the place, Spencer said. It was like a family. Even though were here to care for people, we still get to know these people and their families so well, were so involved, its the kind of rapport you dont get at normal places.

On with Life provides inpatient and outpatient neuro rehabilitation to up to 32 people served with a brain injury, stroke or concussion, have Parkinsons Disease or suffer from another complex neurological condition. The program serves children and adults, many in a coma or minimally responsive state with programs and services aimed at supporting families as well as the persons served along the rehabilitation journey.

Duties for nurses like Spencer at On with Life appear much the same as that of a typical long term care nurse: medications, treatments and general care for the facilities persons served.

But during the COVID-19 outbreak, the nursing staff at the facility have taken on new, perhaps just as important new responsibilities above and beyond the care and treatment they were hired for.

We hang out with them a lot, Spencer said. Especially now since their families cant visit.

On March 13, the Iowa Department of Public Health, following federal recommendations to mitigate the spread of the virus, banned visitors and instituted personal protection equipment (PPE) and health screening guidelines at long-term care facilities.

The restrictions handed down by the state barring visitors has been the biggest adjustment.

We have a lot of families that would visit daily or every other day, she said. Thats a big change for everyone. Obviously, were used to that sort of interaction and thats gone.

Nurses at On with Life have become the eyes and ears for families with a loved one at the facility. Spencer routinely talks with families and the facilitys therapists hold FaceTime or Skype calls as much as possible to ease concerns and give updates. The personal contact aims to keep families as a key component of treatment, even if they cant actually be there in person.

We know these families and they want to know how everything is going, Spencer said. They tell us how much they miss the family member and the staff. The just want to know everything is okay if they cant physically be there.

Persons served are screened twice a shift, or four times per day, at On with Life. Staff are screened when they punch in for a shift and when they punch out. They spend their entire shift in gloves, a respirator and clear plastic face mask.

The constant use of PPEs has been an adjustment of its own.

That was the biggest adjustment for me personally, she said. Its not very comfortable.

Spencer said the extra precautions have worked and are obviously worth the effort.

Things have gone pretty good with us, she said. We dont have any cases with us or persons served so thats very good. I think its a huge adjustment but our population is so vulnerable due to their brain injuries so even if someone might think its being too cautious, I dont think it really is.

On Friday, some restrictions began to be lifted around the state. Restaurants, malls and other non-essential businesses in 77 Iowa counties where COVID-10 had not been as active began to open while still following some limited social distancing guidelines.

Thats not likely to happen anytime soon at long-term care facilities, where 23 outbreaks around the state have been reported. Spencer isnt too concerned how the easing of social distancing will impact her, the job or her people served.

Our staff here is really devoted to our persons served and their best interest so I think even when things start opening up, most of our staff isnt really going to be out and about other than getting groceries and what not, she said.

I think we will just keep doing what weve been doing. The families are very understanding and they know whats in their family members best interest. Hopefully, when this is all over, we can just have a big party with the families.

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