Nursing Assistants: Specialists in the Art of Caring

One must wonder, “Who provides all of the wonderful care to so many people in need?”  The answer is complex, but also quite simple. At the heart of the matter are Nursing Assistants. Whether in a hospital, transitional care, assisted living, or as becoming more common in today’s world, at home, the hard-working, compassionate care of Nursing Assistants cannot be overlooked. The need is growing and many have said that there are not enough Nursing Assistants to go around. However, as stated by William Painter,¹ Past President of Board NNCNA (National Network of Career Nursing Assistants), “Recognition for direct care workers has seemed to grow slightly in the past few years. What really changes things is when people come to a genuine understanding of the fundamental role that direct care workers have in creating quality in long term care in this country. Real change for the better only starts when people begin to understand the actual skills it takes to do this work.”

According to the NNCNA,² each day, more than 4.5 million caregivers provide hands-on care to our nation’s frail, elderly, or chronically challenged citizens.  These important workers have various titles including: Nursing Assistant, Direct Care Worker, Nurse Aide, Care Assistant, Caregiver, Hospice Aide, In-Home Care Aide, ED Assistant, Resident Assistant, Hospice Assistant, Patient Care Assistant, Personal Care Assistant, Geriatric Aide, Restorative Aide, Health Care Assistant, among others.

The 40th annual National Nursing Assistants’ Week, June 15-22, 2017, provides a timely opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the amazing care provided by Nursing Assistants. These caregivers typically operate under the guidance of a nurse, doctor, or other health professional. They are highly trained and skilled to provide a range of complex cares: bathing, dressing, wound care, eating assistance, essentially anything that helps their patients with their activities of daily living. Nursing Assistants can help provide guidance with prescribed physical therapy and often are the ones to gently remind a patient, and sometimes nudge them to do their exercises daily, not just when a therapist is present.

While not all Nursing Assistants wear scrubs, this quote is spot on, “CNA’s are Angels Who Wear Scrubs.”  Next time your loved one needs loving care, remember the Nursing Assistants, and remember to say, “THANK YOU!” for their hard work so that you can rest knowing that your loved one is in great care.

Brian McDonald owns and operates one of the five award winning in-home home care SYNERGY HomeCare offices in Minnesota.  Brian opened his office in 2013 and loves providing cares for people.  His office’s Make a Difference philosophy is “To make a difference in the lives of those whom we bring support, comfort, aid, and assistance, one client at a time, one act at a time, making sure their life is as fulfilled as possible with our help. To strive without reserve to make sure we are making a difference for them every time we visit.”  His nursing assistants/caregivers have been recognized four years in a row (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) as a Provider of Choice by www.BestOfHomeCare.com for the wonderful cares they provide on a daily basis. BrianMcDonald@SynergyHomeCare.com (763)-205-4440

References
¹Painter, William. “Reasons to Celebrate Now!” National Network of Caring Nursing Assistants, http://cna-network.org/. Accessed 6 June 2017.
^2”Ten Steps for Planning.” National Network of Caring Nursing Assistants, http://cna-network.org/. Accessed 6 June 2017.