All this hospital and ER and nurse stuff keeps reminding me of my own experiences volunteering in a nursing home. [Which is why it's going in sightings...although if it belongs elsewhere, feel free to move it.]
I originally started volunteering at the nursing home my mom works in because of National Honors Society service hours. I needed some. Stat. My sister volunteered with me because I was scared, and well, we just kept doing it for years. I haven't volunteered in probably 2 years, though, because...well, it's too hard for me to go in and make friends with people and discover they died, apparently. I can't hack it. But anyway. A few "sightings."
As a volunteer, of course, there wasn't much I could do. For a while, I would help bring out breakfast trays. I had to go in with my mom--who got to work at 6 a.m. Yikes. Sleepy time. My sister and I would sleep/read in the library. A couple of times, a nurse even brought us a blanket and pillow! Very appreciative. My mom didn't care because if we weren't needed, what's the point of being awake and bored, you know?
But anyway. Generally, we could hand out breakfast trays, help with bibs, inform the nurses if someone needed help, talk to the residents, and help with activities. Oh, and a lot of times, we filled the water pitchers and brought them to every room. The CNAs loved us for that.
But helping a resident? Was a BIG no-no. Nevertheless, when I was...16, I think, this man wanted me to help him. I thought he just wanted me to straighten out his bed or something. No, he wanted me to help him OUT of his wheelchair and INTO his bed. And kind of...latched onto me so I had to try to help him or drop him. I was happy as all hell when someone walked by and I was like, HELP! I think it was my mom, even. It was like...seriously. This guy had all his faculties upstairs still. Why would he try to make a 16-year-old volunteer do something like that? I can't help. I could get in trouble for helping...the whole facility could get in trouble.
The next big thing happened a couple of years later. Unfortunately, I was over 18. However, my sister wasn't. There was this guy who was a big perv. HUGE perv. He'd been written up a ton of times over it, but they couldn't transfer him yet. I don't know why. I'm pissed they didn't.
I was in his room--I believe giving him his water pitcher. He started talking to me. And told me he wanted to see my...you can guess. Yeah, I'm going to pull my pants down and show that off to a SUPER creepy old guy. Yeah, RIGHT. So I got out of there immediately and went and told my mom. I was really upset and creeped out. My mom was PISSED. She went and told him off. But she said the most they could do was write him up because I wasn't under 18...buuuuuut then...
He commented on my sister's boobs. Yeah, her underage boobs.
He got written up on the spot, and my mom pitched a fit about him. And told us we didn't have to go near him again. The head nurse hated him, but they were still having a hard time actually kicking him out--I'm not sure why, I'd have to ask my mom again.
He did get kicked out, though...when he hit on the relative of one of the other residents who was underage and had Down's syndrome. FINALLY.
Volunteering was still fun, though...just got awfully sad sometimes...
I originally started volunteering at the nursing home my mom works in because of National Honors Society service hours. I needed some. Stat. My sister volunteered with me because I was scared, and well, we just kept doing it for years. I haven't volunteered in probably 2 years, though, because...well, it's too hard for me to go in and make friends with people and discover they died, apparently. I can't hack it. But anyway. A few "sightings."
As a volunteer, of course, there wasn't much I could do. For a while, I would help bring out breakfast trays. I had to go in with my mom--who got to work at 6 a.m. Yikes. Sleepy time. My sister and I would sleep/read in the library. A couple of times, a nurse even brought us a blanket and pillow! Very appreciative. My mom didn't care because if we weren't needed, what's the point of being awake and bored, you know?
But anyway. Generally, we could hand out breakfast trays, help with bibs, inform the nurses if someone needed help, talk to the residents, and help with activities. Oh, and a lot of times, we filled the water pitchers and brought them to every room. The CNAs loved us for that.
But helping a resident? Was a BIG no-no. Nevertheless, when I was...16, I think, this man wanted me to help him. I thought he just wanted me to straighten out his bed or something. No, he wanted me to help him OUT of his wheelchair and INTO his bed. And kind of...latched onto me so I had to try to help him or drop him. I was happy as all hell when someone walked by and I was like, HELP! I think it was my mom, even. It was like...seriously. This guy had all his faculties upstairs still. Why would he try to make a 16-year-old volunteer do something like that? I can't help. I could get in trouble for helping...the whole facility could get in trouble.
The next big thing happened a couple of years later. Unfortunately, I was over 18. However, my sister wasn't. There was this guy who was a big perv. HUGE perv. He'd been written up a ton of times over it, but they couldn't transfer him yet. I don't know why. I'm pissed they didn't.
I was in his room--I believe giving him his water pitcher. He started talking to me. And told me he wanted to see my...you can guess. Yeah, I'm going to pull my pants down and show that off to a SUPER creepy old guy. Yeah, RIGHT. So I got out of there immediately and went and told my mom. I was really upset and creeped out. My mom was PISSED. She went and told him off. But she said the most they could do was write him up because I wasn't under 18...buuuuuut then...
He commented on my sister's boobs. Yeah, her underage boobs.
He got written up on the spot, and my mom pitched a fit about him. And told us we didn't have to go near him again. The head nurse hated him, but they were still having a hard time actually kicking him out--I'm not sure why, I'd have to ask my mom again.
He did get kicked out, though...when he hit on the relative of one of the other residents who was underage and had Down's syndrome. FINALLY.
Volunteering was still fun, though...just got awfully sad sometimes...
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