Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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SENIOR CORNER ABC News Story Honors Caregivers! by MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY Last week’s broadcast of ABC’s World News with Diane Sawyer closed with a story featuring Home Instead Senior Care, as “Person of the Week!” This is part of a series called “Families on the Brink: What to Do about Mom and Dad.” Sue and Skip Hollcroft are two of the more than 20 million people struggling to take care of their children and their aging parents. In January, when her wid- owed father, John C., almost 86-years-old, wrecked his car, it got even more diffi- cult. Because of her father’s declining health, the family decided that it was unsafe for him to live in the house he loved and had lived in for more than 30 years. Though Sue Hollcroft said it was terrifying to have her dad living alone in the house, he refused to move. He said he felt comfortable there. For months, the family searched for a solution as Sue and Skip’s stress increased. “That’s where we said, We’ve got to find something. How can we? What can we do?” Skip Hollcroft said. Finally they found a compromise, and today John C. is home but he’s not alone. A caregiver provided by a service called Home Instead Senior Care visits John C. for four hours a day, five days a week. The caregiver helps him with household chores, accompanies him to his favorite restaurant and provides him with comfortable companionship. “It’s kept him in his home and that’s what he wants,” Sue Hollcroft said. Nine out of 10 people over 60 want to stay in their homes as long as pos- Home Instead Senior Care is one of the many services designed to allow seniors to stay out of nursing homes. sible. They are able to do that thanks to new technologies — like seniors alert- ing family members of a problem — and the help of neighbors and caretakers, according to the AARP. Amy Goyer of the AARP said that now there is a trend for seniors to age at home. “That is the goal of most adults as we live longer, most people want to stay in their own homes,” she said. “That means that families have to be involved in support, neighborhoods, communities, but there is also the industry of technology that supports and aids people to stay in the home,” Goyer said. She pointed to such innovations as vibrating pill boxes that sound an alarm when it’s time for a person to take their medication and a website created for seniors so they can stay connected with family members in one place. Goyer said franchised organizations and local nonprofit agencies also pro- vide personal care to aging adults living at home. Home Instead Senior Care is one of the many services designed to allow seniors to stay out of nursing homes. Offering the “Families on the Brink” series shows how this topic is clearly on the minds of Americans. Sometimes just starting the conversation is the most awkward position for the family member. Having a conversation around the dinner table might be the benefit that gets everyone informed. Accurate information is essential. MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY, Owners of Home Instead Senior Care. Contributing Writers. COMMENTS? editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com Simulation in Healthcare Education at Fayetteville Technical Community College by MITZI AVERETTE During the past 10 to 15 years, many steps have been taken to reduce medical errors. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published “To Err is Human,” an article about this staggering problem in healthcare. The article suggested that Congress create a Center for Patient Safety to track, moni- tor, and address National Patient Safety goals. This was done, and much progress has been made; but the numbers continued to be troubling. In 2009 the Chief Medical Officer of England cited disturbing statistics in his annual report: “When you step on a plane, your chance of dying in a plane crash is one in 10 million. When admitted into a hospital, your chance of dying or being seriously harmed by a medical error is one in 300.” One of his recommendations states, “Simulation training in all its forms will be a vital part of building a safer healthcare system.” When did healthcare begin to incorporate simulation Students can perform a head-to-toe assessment that includes taking blood pressure and listening to lung, heart, and bowel sounds. In addition, there is one HPS that will go through the stages of labor and delivery of a baby. FTCC purchased its first high-fidelity adult HPS in Simulation training can help medical professionals and patients. into education? The beginning dates back to 1960 with the introduction of the Resusci-Anne manikin for CPR training. Students at that time remember shak- ing the manikin’s shoulders and shouting, “Annie, Annie, are you OK?” For many years, Annie remained silent and motionless, never giving a response. Now, times have changed! Today healthcare education has computerized human patient simulators (HPS) that can talk (or cry, depending on their age), can display numerous heart rhythms on a cardiac monitor, and have pulses in their arms, legs, neck, and groin. Some simulators even have pulses behind the knee and can display cyanosis (a blue color around the mouth or on the fingertips) that indicates a problem with oxygenation. 14 UCW FEBRUARY 16-22, 2011 2005 and currently has a total of six. In 2009, FTCC received a grant to bring together a task force of instructors from the nursing, EMS, CNA, respiratory, and dental pro- grams to design and implement a way to more fully incor- porate simulation technology into the curriculums. In April 2010, one lab area in the Health Technology building exists, exclusively devoted to simulation training. In November, a full-time position was added to coordinate the lab. Many FTCC health students come to the simulation lab regularly as part of their training. Scenarios can be chosen to meet specific learning objectives related to their current class content, such as diabetes or asthma. Unlike clinical settings where instructors must hover closely and supervise every step, simulation lab students can be left alone to think through situations for themselves. If the stu- dent chooses a correct course of action in a timely manner, the vital signs and other indicators on the HPS will improve. Conversely, if the student makes a mistake, the conditions of the HPS can worsen and a simulated death can result. All this training takes place with no risk to any patients. It is clear to both students and faculty that teaching with simulation is one of the most exciting advancements in health- care education. MITZI AVERETTE, FTCC Health Technology Simulation Lab Coordinator, COMMENTS? 484- 6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM