Addressing Death of Residents

Addressing Death of Residents

 There can be many challenges and difficulties in social work such as the death of residents and many new additions every day. Burger (2009 - 2015) stated “One of the saddest aspects of my experience in long term care that I struggle with is the frequent deaths of residents”.  Sometimes they are gradual and expected and other times they appear to be sudden. One of the traditions that I hope to reestablish in my nursing home is having a memorial service when a resident dies. The memorial service will, hopefully, provide a sense of closure for the surviving residents and facilitate a significant and necessary grieving process for residents and staff alike “says Francine.

New residents also check in every day. Often times this can be challenging getting them settled in with everything they need and all of their information. Some information cannot be obtained from the resident because they may not understand or know the necessary information. The human service worker may have to ask other family members for this information.  It is also very sad and difficult to handle when residents cry and scream when their loved ones leave because they want to go home with them. A general method to end-of-life care tackles, not just the known client, but also the family and other caregivers, as well as the professionals involved (Health-and-Social-Work, 23(4), 275-281).

References

Burger, W. R. (2009 - 2015). Human services in contemporary America (8th Ed.). 2008, 2011, Ohio: Cengage Learning.

Health-and-Social-Work. 29(1): 46-54, Feb 2004. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/bereavement/standards/default.asp on 03/19/2015