Thank you Shirley. I'm glad to hear Ron has been such a great help to you. He is definitely an asset to the profession of OT and apparently to patients who are lucky enough to get to see him. About the difficult situation in the facility your daughter was in, I am sorry that happened to you. I think it is a real serious and pervasive problem in health care that there is a shortage of therapists to do this vital work. I think the situation may have been less that they did not want to see your daughter than they were pulled in many directions and were unable to make that choice.
In my Hospital (on any given day) we have about 140 patients on the PT census and 100 on the OT census. This is a rapidly cycling population which is passing through and needs to be seen a first time along with anyone who remains in the facility and needs to be treated. Now, to see those patients I have about 6 PTs on a weekday and 3 OTs. That means that there will be many people every day who cannot get on the list. Most therapists feel terrible about it. My job as a manager is to be the one who worries about it and to do as much to have the therapists not think about it too much. I offer this as a possible explanation of the difficult situation you were in. I know that solutions are better than excuses. Also, as far as I know, all the therapists I have ever met dedicated their lives to helping others and I would think any of the apologies they gave to you and your daughter were likely heartfelt. I'm glad you got to get home and the Ron is helping now. That's some consolation. Yours, Ed Kaine, OTR, RFT President of the League of Functional Therapists On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 5:38 PM, Shirley <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Ron, > > You have asked me to share my experiences with therapists over the last > year pertaining to my daughter Susan. > > First I would like to say that I have been wonderfully impressed with > the posts from other therapists like Joan and Ed on this site. They > seem caring and truly want to make a difference in their patients > lives. Patients need more like you all. > > Susan was in the hospital for 8 mos, then in rehab for 3mos. Most of > the time she was very lethargic. The therapy she received in the > hospital was almost nil. She was scheduled to receive it 5 days a week > in the hospital. In Rehab therapy, after I went to director, she was to > receive therapy 5 to 6 days a week. She got 1 hr maybe every other > week, 30 min. maybe every week and 15 min every now and then. Again to > the therapists defense, she was very lethargic. There is "one" doctor > to take care of all the residents, as you probably know, but our > attempts to get him to adjust her meds went unheeded. > > My question is: Doesn't the therapist have the moral and ethical > responsibility to at least work the patients arms and legs, moving the > limbs while in bed if necessary and other things to stimulate the > patient? Maybe even talking to the Drs. and Nurses about the families > concerns about the meds?.....that may be asking too much. > > There seems to be very few dedicated professional therapists out > there........I must tell you that I did not have much confidence that > Susan would get very good therapy when we brought her home, BUT, much > to my surprise and thankfulness, you were sent to her, restoring my > faith that someone COULD help her. What you have done for Susan by just > caring and directing her to what she needs to do and how to get there, > is something that ALL therapists need to do. How do you teach these > people to "do it right"? You have interacted with us, the family, > showing us what to do, you have instilled confidence in Susan, where > there was none. She has come farther in 3 mo. than in the nearly yr > prior. > > To me a therapist needs to first know what the patient needs, determine > how far you think they can go, develop a relationship with the patient > which spurs them on. I know Susan wants to do good for you, she wants > to show you when she does something that she knows you have been trying > to get her to do. It makes her want to do more when she sees that you > are pleased. > > Unfortunately, I saw none of this prior to you and Marcie coming to see > Susan. > > I would like to say all out there, that you will never know how much we > are thankful and grateful for all you do for our loved ones. You affect > not only the patient, but the family as well. And, you will not soon be > forgotten when your job is done. > > > > Shirley, Susan's thankful mom. > > > > > > Shirley > > > > > > -- > Options? > www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com > > Archive? > www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
