How Certified Nurse Assistants Are Saving The World?

Certified Nurse Assistants work under registered nurses or licensed vocational nurses to assist older populations with their daily living. Their duties consist of assisting them with medicine, assisting with bathing and dressing, feeding them, and just all the basic necessities that we look over in our daily life. Now more than ever, these basic necessities are not just mainiting the status quo in this community, but it’s saving lives.

While most states are under order of shelter in place laws and stay at home laws due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, our CNAs have to go out and work. Now more than ever, since geriatric populations are the most susceptible to this virus, it is important to ensure they are safe. The stakes are high and the nurse assistants in our communities are willing to take on that task. Here is how they do it:

Physical Distancing

The most important thing about that is both dangerous for older people and highly contagious. Since CNAs are working in homes, clinics, and nursing facilities that don’t necessarily always have the luxury of having rooms spaced apart, it’s important to make sure patients are not infecting each other. What does this mean? CNAs have to enact their daily responsibilities while ensuring that all patients are 6 feet or more apart. If that means bringing food to them or changing some positioning around then so be it. It’s extra work for Certified Nurse Assistants, but without physical distancing the virus can infect many quickly.

Keeping Morale Up For Patients

With physical distancing in place, it can be gloomy for patients. It can already be troubling sometimes feeling happy in a home, but with this new challenge, CNAs have to get creative with their staff to ensure that their patients are content. This can range from anything from getting artistic separately in their rooms or even going on individual walks that are supervised by CNAs. It’s always important to get fresh air safely in a time like this. There is a viral photo going around that shows a senior facility playing hallway bingo. Creative games like this can boost up morale as well as keep a sense of normalcy. It’s important to remember that many of these patients can’t see their own families as visits are very likely canceled due to the pandemic and safety of the patient.

Medical Workers Need PPE

Unfortunately in America, we are running out of PPE equipment for our medical staff. PPE stands for personal protective equipment and these are things like masks and gowns that ensure that germs are not being spread as much and infecting care takers. Not only are CNAs caring for their patients, but they have to be extra careful with how they care for themselves. If they are spending all their energy on keeping patients safe and not caring for their safety, they can very likely get the virus themselves and pass it on to those patients.

CNAs Save Lives

During these trying times, certified nurse assistants and other healthcare providers are going the extra mile to ensure that patients in nursing facilities are getting the extra help they need to make them not only feel safe, but be safe.