Senior residents have rights, too

    I remember as a young girl visiting my great-grandmother at the nursing home. The moment you walked in the door, there was a smell. It wasn’t a pleasant smell; one of baking cookies or the sweetness of her perfume. It was a chemical smell mixed with other nonpleasant odors. Then when I walked the hallways, leading up to my great-grandmother’s room, we passed other older seniors in the hallways. They would reach out their arms to me, many yelling for “help.” Others might have their heads down or tilted to the sides, fast asleep, but most of them that were in their wheelchairs had a “seatbelt” on, and so many were secured with another belt to the handrails that lead the length of the hallways. They were literally restrained.
    Resident rights have changed over the years with federal and state regulations continually being looked at and changing in favor of the residents and better care and advocacy for those living in long-term care facilities.
    Residents have the right to be involved in decisions about the medications they take and to have freedom from unnecessary medications. Medications can help us to maintain our health, but they can also have unwanted side effects that impact our quality of life; this is no different if we are 45 or 85.
    In 2011 a nationwide study by Medicare found that many residents were receiving antipsychotic drugs even though they were not indicated for their condition and could have harmful or unpleasant side effects. We advocate and encourage residents and their family members to review their list of medications with the prescribing physicians and talk about side effects they may be facing (ie., drowsiness, dry mouth, headaches).

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