3,181 Comments Posted by Lynne

Nope, never heard of a mop. Well, somedays that's what they say my hair looks like, but other than that if it falls anywheres in the category of "domesticity," well, let's just say I got a C- out of home ec cooking and a D- out of home ec sewing in junior high (they wouldn't let me near the home ec areas after that). And I think she gave me a higher grade than I deserved because she took pity on me. :-)

Ack! Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I am too old to know what "<3" means, unless it means "less than three". ;-)

novocaine,

What country do you live in?

Correct.

JAVA is my baby sister. :-)

I think you'll find few people these days who don't agree with that. Now, if the states would just cough up the $$$ so's the families can keep their kiddos home longer with the resources they really need . . . .

Only me. Well, and Dr. Sketch when he came to visit. :-)

WAWAWAWAWA!!!!! 8`-)

Yeah, one day we'll have to tell them we really WERE murdering bastards after all, huh? 8`-)

These people scare me, Marcia. They want blood and guts to clear up the guilt they seem to feel for their people not voting to give money to take care of the people you and I actually took physical care of. Funny world, huh?

Makes ya feel kinda like the witches on trial in Salem musta felt. Whatever evidence is brought up they use it against you - same evidence, different interpretation. Throw 'em in the river - if they don't drown, they are witches and need to be burned. If they drown, oops! They musta not been witches after all! Our bad!

We wish there were more like you. It's not fair when the good ones get tarred with the same brush that the destructive ones do, is it?

THAT, my darling bdhsnake, was why I gave you a caution and told you to go have a ciggie. :-)

OK, third shift generally does the "bed checks" I was referring to. They have to check each person on the living every half hour to make sure they are OK (and record that they made this check). It's a difficult task because you want to get in the room quietly without turning on the lights (usually need to use a flashlight or the hall light, which is dimmed), make sure each person is breathing and isn't tangled in clothes or bedding, hasn't fallen out of bed, hasn't eaten anything s/he isn't supposed to eat (bedding, leisure items, etc.), doesn't look like they have a fever, hasn't received an injury of some sort due to seizures, self-injurious behavior, etc., the covers are where they need to be, etc., and if the person has become wet or soiled him/herself you need to assist in getting him/her to the bathroom and changed, while then going back and changing the bedding. Third shift also folds the bags and bags of laundry that come back to the living area and places the folded laundry in each person's bedroom (quietly, without waking them) and the linens and towels in the linen room, cleans the furniture (and in some places does all the mopping and cleaning for the living area), does charting, files all the paperwork that needs filed, escorts anyone to the bathroom who needs to go, and deals with anyone who is up and about because they have sleep problems (which is approximately 1/4 of our folks). They then get everyone dressed before first shift comes in and get breakfast set up.
It is easily one of the most under-appreciated, most unsung, yet most important jobs in the history of healthcare. Yet third shift staff are routinely called "weird" because they work an unusual shift.
Go figure.
Any place where people with severe to profound disabilities live, whether it is a large residential facility, group home, or private home, cannot function without third shift. THESE people are the backbone of the healthcare system.

[CAUTION: RANT AHEAD. Please feel free to go out for a smoke or an extra sodee pop. Or three. <G>]

Danielle,

If you want to go somewhere that they will tell you only horror stories and make you think only bad things happened here, this isn't the place. Like anywhere, then and today, staff and administration did what they could with what little they were given by you, the taxpayer, assuming you can and do vote, even for the "little crappy elections" where issues like this are usually decided - that's what "bonds" are generally for - the things that most of you vote against because it would take three more entire cents out of your tax. There were no conspiracy plots to do harm or to torture or to kill or to maim. The people who ran the place and who worked here did what they did with what little they were given by the state legislatures that were backed by the taxpayers and the voters of the United States, in this case, Pennsylvania.

I am still fascinated, however, with so many people who come here looking for evil, assuming it resides outside themselves. I believe people with such a mindset should, instead, perhaps be looking inward.

Pennhurst was shut down for the same reason all other facilities are currently being shut down and/or downsized across the world (not just the US, y'all Yankee-types <G>). People have always been uncomfortable with people who are different, and many years ago they sent them away, outside the boundaries of where the "normal" people lived. Now some people are finally coming to realize that people with disabilities are not that different from you and me, and, in a number of cases, are much nicer company than you and me and have a hell of a lot more to offer than some of us. Therefore, we in the field are trying to do away with the prejudices of the very society that asked in the first place to have these folks removed from "civilized company" and placed far away - out of sight, out of mind.

The problem is that a lot of "normal" people don't want to have these folks living among them, even today, so until we get that attitude adjusted, rather than looking at Pennhurst you really need to be looking at your own personal neighborhood and see what you and your loved ones and friends are doing to make this a reality. Otherwise my friend, I can tell you for a fact that when you are pointing that finger you are only pointing it into the mirror, at yourself and your community. This is definitely one of the places in which, if you aren't part of the solution, you are definitely part of the problem.

Now, stop pointing fingers and go out and do some good for these folks. Push your Congress to make sure group homes get funding. Go volunteer some time in a nursing home or special education class. Send some cozy socks or an extra blanket to people who don't have much and who are needy. Sponsor someone for the Special Olympics. Find a shelter or somewhere to adopt and give your time and energy and caring, and quit playing "kick the dead horse" with a place whose major sin was not receiving enough attention or money or interest from a large number of citizens and legislators of the state of Pennsylvania.

[We now return you to your regular station in which we blame everyone for the problems of Pennhurst except those people who were actually responsible.]

Poor picked-on novocaine. These folks be brutes, non? ;-)

So, Yaggy, where can we see yours?

Part of my current job is finding resources on the Internet.