CNAs empowering CNAs!

I am just excited to find this blog, despite the American nationalism it oozes on the banner (I dont think most CNAs are flag-touting American nationalists), and the pretty white Florence Nightingale lady it features.
It seems like this site comes at it from a somewhat professional angle, but hey, it has a good name and maybe there are some gems in there.

But I have been thinking of how we can put out there, the experiences and struggles that we CNAs face on the job, and have it be seen as LEGIT, REAL and be part of this debate on healthcare, patient safety, quality of life etc etc. So I am looking around for models. If you have any advice, send me what you got!

So here it is:
CNAs Empowering CNAs
http://nursingassistants.net/

Let's talk about RACE in these nursing homes...these old white racists who wont repent at their deathbed. Check this out:

Indiana: Residents Cannot Pick Caregivers Based on Race

Published by Patti at 6:00 am under News

For all the “conversations” this nation has regarding race issues, it seems that this should not be a concern: Residents/patients having the “right” to chose nurses, aides and other caregivers based upon their race. But it happens, often. It’s wrong. It’s discriminatory. And it’s about time something changes to end this. Indiana recognized this and have made it illegal.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Certified nursing assistant Brenda Chaney was on duty in an Indiana nursing home one day when she discovered a patient lying on the floor, unable to stand.

But Chaney couldn’t help the woman up. She had to search for a white aide because the woman had left instructions that she did not want any black caregivers. And the nursing home insisted it was legally bound to honor the request.

As usual, laws are written without legislators thinking of the consequences. It usually takes a few years for the full effect of these consequences to come to light.

Elderly patients, who won more legal control over their quality of life in nursing homes, sometimes want to dictate the race of those who care for them. And some nursing homes enforce those preferences in their staff policies.

The nursing assistant in this case sued the facility:

Documents in Chaney’s lawsuit, filed in 2008, say her daily assignment sheet at Plainfield Healthcare Center always included the reminder that one patient in her unit “Prefers No Black CNAs.”

Chaney, a 49-year-old single mother who at the time was helping to put her only son through college, initially went along with the policy despite her misgivings because she needed the money.

“I always felt like it was wrong,” said Chaney, who has worked in nursing homes since she earned certification in 2006. “I just had to go with the flow.”

The nursing home said it was just following a long-standing interpretation of the patients’ rights law. “The rules say this is their home and everyone else is just a visitor there, including staff,” said McSharar.

We work in a high stress field. No one deserves to be singled out for any reason, rejected and actually written off as a “patient right” issue. I’ve seen the opposite happen as well: Black residents refusing care from white (or Hispanic or Asian) aides.

An aide is an aide. A nurse is a nurse. We all have the same basic training and are fully capable of doing our jobs. It’s about time older people understand this.