We as CNA's go through a continuing education program to learn how to properly care for the residents we will work with and we have to take a state board test in order to become certified. Within going through all this we learn the hands on part of the job as well as the physical and emotional aspect of the job for ourselves and the residents. We come into this field with open minds and high hopes. We come to this field because we want to give the best care we can, we want to treat our residents with dignity and compassion and we want to make a difference in their lives. We learn that our job will help promote health and longevity in our residents. During the clinical phase we sadly learn the ugly truth of what it is really like to do our job. We also see how the ones before us have learned to handle this demanding job. We see that many of the CNA's out in the field have sadly thrown most of the textbook training and skills out the window and found their own way to get the work done. We are no longer truly promoting health and longevity. This happens because they come to their facilities and they are understaffed and given more residents to care for than they can truly handled during a shift. I am reaching out to you so you can help me make a positive difference not only for the CNA's that work hard to provide the best care they can but to make a difference in the lives of our residents. 

The current SC DHEC regulations for resident to CNA ratios for a Nursing home are as follow:

Shift one: 9:1

Shift Two: 13:1

Shift three: 22:1

Now that I have provide you with those numbers I question how many of you have loved ones in a long term care facility, now or maybe have in the past? Did you ever really look around and take in the environment? If you have then obviously something is wrong because these regulations have not changed, if you haven't then I ask you to take a tour of a nursing facility in our State. Just walk through and look around at the residents, parked in the halls, left in bed, rolling or wandering around aimlessly like they are non existent. Please hear me out and take this matter as seriously as I do. A CNA that works first shift (shift one) is responsible for a group of residents which in current conditions is anywhere from 10-12 on a good day. This CNA has to help get all his/her resident their breakfast, feed those that need to be fed, clean up from breakfast, get his/her residents bathed either by bed bath or shower, dress them, help them to bathroom or change them at least every 2-3 hours or as needed, take them to activities, get them to lunch, again feeding those that need to be fed, cleaning up from lunch, back to changing and going to the bathroom, and at some point chart all the work that has been done, answer call lights in between and anything else the residents needs. As well through all this a CNA is supposed to interact with the residents on a personal level and make them feel cared for and safe. Please tell me how can we do all this for that number of residents properly and to the best of our ability? Do you truly read all this and believe the work is being completed according to our training? Sadly no it is not we don't have enough time in an eight hour shift to possible do what we need to do for each and ever resident properly. We are forced to find short cuts or skip task all together. We cant even take the breaks we are supposed to take because if we even consider taking a break we will end up behind on our work. 

What DHEC Regulations should be:

Shift one: 6:1

Shift two: 8:1

Shift three: 12:1

Please take this seriously. These residents deserve better than what the state is allowing them to receive. When DHEC comes into a facility and finds they do not have have the proper amount of staff they simply give them an "action plan" to "fix" the issue and they say they will come back in thirty days to check if the violation has been corrected. Stop this, this is not solving the issue. In thirty days DHEC comes back in as expected and magically the facility has the correct amount of staff but come tomorrow we will be right back to working understaffed. Stop with the simple little "action plan" stop with the thirty day notice, why would you tell the facility when you are coming back? How is this helping the residents? How is this creating a healthy living and working environment? I'll wait for that answer........

Not only do these residents deserve adequate care but its what they worked all their lives to pay for and this is what they get? Help us make a difference. I'm asking you this wholeheartedly to think of what these residents  are going through. They deserve to be treated like me and you, they are still people. They are still humans. These resident deserve to be bathed properly daily, they deserve to eat the foods they like if its medically allowed, they deserve to wear the clothes they like, they deserve to get out the bed and be interacted with, they deserve to have their hair fixed the way they like, they deserve all the simply enjoyments of life just like you and me. But sadly with the state regulations set up the way they are we simply do not have the time to do all this during our shift and this should bother you as much as it does me. This is not just a Nursing Home to these residents it is their HOME.

This is not just a SC State issue it is nationwide but we must start somewhere.