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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cMy dad was a patient here then, and I could see him when I worked, but I didn’t get to see him when I was off. I was blessed that I was working here,\u201d Armstrong said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She entered healthcare as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) three months after high school graduation, using the skills she learned in her health occupations class. About five years later, she became a licensed practical nurse and has been in the system for more than 42 years. Armstrong has worked at Lincoln Care Center and Donalson Care Center. She has seen the evolution of healthcare in her time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have a lot more modern conveniences [now]. [In the past], we had old metal bedpans and glass thermometers, and we had to clean [them] all. Everything\u2019s just different now,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cWe never had computers [before]. [Now], we have different medicines and things like lifts to help with the patients. There\u2019s been a lot of changes. I won\u2019t say it\u2019s bad, but I\u2019m not a big fan of change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing that\u2019s changed is her ability to relate to the families of her patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy husband was pretty sick about 16 years ago, and I’m not saying I didn’t care about people then, but things really shifted when I saw it from the other side. I try to treat people like I wanted him to be treated,\u201d she said. \u201cAs you age, you realize you might be here someday. You have to put yourself in the patient’s shoes, and you have to put yourself in the families\u2019 shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some instances, though, the staff is the only family a resident may have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armstrong said, \u201cFor most people, this is their last home, and we\u2019ve just got to make it as comfortable for them as possible. That’s our goal. I see many of these CNAs \u2014 they don’t make a lot of money \u2014 spending their money bringing body wash in here so the patients will have something other than the institutional wash, picking them up [something from] Sonic \u2014doing stuff like that. I think that’s neat. And then some of them here don’t have any family; their family is gone, so the girls are good to pick up the slack and do some special things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armstrong is a treatment nurse specializing in wound care. In a long-term facility, we often associate wounds with bed sores. The source of wounds needing care varies greatly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said, \u201cIt’s related to a lot of things like their condition and whether or not they’re eating. They may get wounds on their heels if they\u2019ve had to be on the operating table. Mostly, it goes along with diabetes; it’s hard to heal skin with that [disease]. And when they’re getting sicker, it’s when it develops. It happens when they’re not eating because you have to have protein. I tell families your skin is an organ just like your heart, and it wears out. It gets old, just like the rest of your body. Many people think it’s from neglect, but most of the time, it\u2019s due to the patient’s overall condition. They have a lot of comorbidities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hours are long, and the work is demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s very hard physical work, and it’s hard emotional work. Your family suffers, and you\u2019ve got to work a lot of holidays and long hours. With 12-hour shifts, you miss a lot, and your family has to sacrifice,\u201d said Armstrong. \u201cMy husband, Doug, has been a godsend. He gets a little frustrated, but, for the most part, over the years, he\u2019s gone along with it.\u201d The years have been many, and the rewards have been great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said, \u201cI just like to see their smiles. I have a little lady who is 95, and she calls out to me when I go by. The other day, she said, \u2018It just makes me so happy to see you on the days you\u2019re here.\u2019 And I\u2019ve met a lot of families \u2014 people that stay in contact with me even after their loved one has died.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What she has seen reminds her daily of something we often forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBe thankful for your health and your family because it can change in an instant. Treat others as you want to be treated, and love on the people in your life. Your health is a one-time thing, and once it’s gone, it’s gone,\u201d said Armstrong. GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" IT WAS a time when the world and healthcare resembled a sci-fi horror movie more than the world we\u2019d known. At least our world before the pandemic was larger than theirs. The world of patients confined to skilled care centers is small, occupied by those who can no longer care for themselves and those who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":21214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/12\/1-2-1024x683.png\")
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