New
patient meets with Care Team, Care Partners, etc.
New
patient is assessed by Care Team and most therapeutic approach is
decided upon by ALL players.
Using
the patients cognitive abilities, needs and preference...the patients first
few days are mapped out by the Care Team.
He
is assigned a ''Go-To'' person who has very good working knowledge of
the facility, itself, and the kinds of things the new patient will
encounter in this new (to him) facility... especially – right
away. The ''Go-To'' person is responsible to help give the new
patient the sea legs needed to stand on his own (figuratively.) The ''Go-To''
person is the new patients contact person (at first) with/to the new
facility (LHH.) The communication should always be as current as
possible. The ''Go-To'' person is the liaison for the patient.
The ''GO-TO'' Person can be denoted by the term (The Others.) It needs to be defined and fleshed-out as to what his actual duties may be. His impact and effectiveness can be measured by seeing how well acclimated and satisfied is the patient he is assigned to and if all negatives once carried by the new patient have turned toward the positive. The ''Objective'' of it all is to increase the happiness and enjoyment of the ''new patient.'' and by how well he is assimilated into being a member of the LHH community and his ability to become a member, eventually, of the world outside of LHH.
The
patient will be spending much of his time with Nursing Asst. or
PCA. He/she is responsible for day-to-day unit life involving ADL's
of patient. His daytime Care Partner should know the patient (and
facility) well enough to help acclimate patient to his new
surroundings. He helps make suggestions as to the kinds of things
that may interest the new patient.
The
Activities Department provides different creative ways that the new
patient can express himself. Everything is geared for the patient
to spend his time having the best experience and most therapeutic
time possible. It is about getting well and being independent
enough to eventually rejoin society on an affective
level.
The
patient has been schooled (formally or informally,) here, in a way
that upgrades his decision-making skills to be more able to
negotiate a lifestyle and maintaining it outside the facility (for
a long period.)
END FOR NOW!
I would like to discuss the idea of a ''GO-TO'' PERSON with someone to hear-out and further this idea.
---Here is a video that I found recently. I thought that some may like to see it. ''God's Hotel'' was the term Dr. Victoria Sweet used for her book chronicling her twenty year experience of working at the old Laguna Honda Hospital. The video lasts less than 8 mins. This is a quick tour of the inside of the old LHH.
I made it a TOUR of the old Laguna Honda Hospital because I knew that NOT everyone got a chance to see it. I call it a TOUR of ''God's Hotel'' after her book of the same name. ''God's Hotel,'' was written by Dr. Victoria Sweet...a former doctor at LHH. The book was well received by the public having spent time on the NY Times bestseller list and won a Guggenheim in the process. She made a TEDtalk about LHH at the time.
She was, also, my own doctor for awhile.
Dr. VICTORIA SWEET
We, as I'm sure many are aware, Laguna Honda Hospital is slated to be shutdown and emptied by the feds in September, 2022. This news blindsided most of us because we have to move elsewhere for this to happen. A small amount of residents have been moved causing 9 deaths already, in the first three weeks They have put a pause on the transfer
movement. Many lawsuits have sprung up. Let's put a sticker to ''MAKE THE PAUSE...PERMANENT. KINDNESS IS THE WAY!''
MAKE THE PAUSE...PERMANENT!
We have now as of 10/12 been given an extension to our closure. A lawsuit was settled and Laguna Honda Hospital will remain open until November 13, 2023. The pause is slated to be lifted in February, 2023. We have not been recertified, but we are making progress to that which, of course, would be our goal.
---I would like to dedicate this song by the Beatles to ALL the nurses at Laguna Honda. I know that this song was written by John Lennon about a relationship to a girl he may or may not have been involved with. He may have found it applicable to that situation. But, I think it applies very strongly to myself and many others at any hospital or nursing home, also.
---I was very self-reliant most of my life and was very able to fend for myself. The bad times were the bad times, but I seemed to survive them alright. The stroke hit me in 2002...and I had NO idea what to do. I was immediately plugged into the system and ended up at living in a hospital..
---People have been very good to me here. I love them ALL and I really think I mean that. They have helped me...so many times in so many ways. The song fits in, in so many ways, also. I didn't think too much about what people did who couldn't do the fundamental things that I used to take for granted. Well, I learned, in spades. They get - HELP! .
---The version of the song has expired. I, finally, added a different version in its place. It is NOT the BEATLES, but i HOPE that it serves the purpose.
---Today we had a focus group for the long-term residents. I am glad that we had an opportunity to speak our minds. I would like to see us have more groups like this. I don’t think we even scratched the surface as to what we could have said. In my own case…I would have done better if I had more time.
WHAT I MEANT TO CONVEY:
---A woman mentioned that she enjoyed the groups that she goes to. I followed her statement with the fact that we should actually have more groups to learn different things. My answer was NOT to the point.
---I meant to say that we should have many more groups that convey SELF- KNOWLEDGE and SELF-WORTH. We should have more groups concerned with REAL REHABILITATION as I see it. We should be concerned with teaching the resident/patient how to know him/her-self. Since we are concerned with sending people into the society/community, it behooves us to equip those individuals with REASONs TO SAY NO. We do NOT WANT folks to fall into the same addictive patterns…so he becomes re-addicted. We need to teach those who are on this track to learn GREATER SELF-WORTH so they are able to say NO to things that re-addict them and cause them to re-enter the addiction system ...and mean it. If we get to the root cause before this happens, we may nip in the bud and keep the RESIDENT/PATIENT from having to deal with another malady stemming from the same root cause that was responsible for his/her entering the system this time. The root cause is usually much the same in eachcase.
Promotes Independence
---Or, it may be very worthwhile to help the patient discover what it is that really gives him/her fulfillment. Then we could help him/her to actually learn to implement meeting those needs he has discovered. We would be doing a great service NOT only to the patient who learns this skill, but to the people who are his victim, so to speak. If he doesn't find something productive, he'll wander from pillar to post trying to find something to fill all the extra time that he seems to have, all the while, looking for these VERY ANSWERS and cause some kind of ruckus. In the long run, we could teach the Resident/Patient how to get his/her needs met...and NOT rely on the system or others to do things that he is able to do for himself. If we are able to teach folks to be self-reliant, in this way we promote independence. And...to boot, he will be much happier!
-– With love and understanding and some SELF-KNOWLEDGE, we hope to teach the Resident/Patient how to make better and more LIFE AFFIRMING DECISIONS. MORE LATER…
---This Is What I CONVEYED To The People From The State In April 2021. I Am NOT Sure What They Took Away. A REPRINT!
---The KEY to doing well in the system comes down to knowing this basic fact. Folks who know what their needs are and how to get them met do better than those who are NOT quite aware of their needs and really have no idea as to what to do to get them met.
CLICK THOUGHTOON!
---They may be aware that there is something missing in their life, but they really have no idea what causes this dissatisfaction, but, maybe, sometimes they think they do. They usually find themselves addicted to something that gives a false, pseudo-impression that the feel good solution they are cozying up to is a or the solution...and it is not.
---This KEY is usually provided unknowingly from elsewhere and brings some relief from the feeling of dissatisfaction in the short run, but tends to lose its appeal as time goes on. By this time, we usually find ourselves addicted to this item that provides comfort and find we are as dissatisfied as ever. This KEY resembles the one you are looking for, but leads down a destructive path that many have already taught you is NOT the one. If it doesn't help you to get to know yourself better, you can be sure it won't last. It is just another distraction that you will become addicted to that eventually will ''destroy'' you in the end.
--The KEY, as I see it, comes in this way. Instead of being a pronouncement that TRICKLES TO the resident/patient from some authority figure who sits on high, it TRULY TRICKLES FROM the resident/patient himself when he finally is able to express things that he needs. The resident/patient expresses things inside of himself that reflect things that he needs to lead a fulfilling life of some sort. If you can help identify these things that he expresses AND then help provide some of the things that are needed, we'll see happiness show itself. Realize that they may not yet be on the tip of his tongue.
---This is a very crucial point and place to be and the crossroad that many find themselves. Learning what to do at this point can make or break the resident/patient. This crossroad is where the resident/patient should learn about trial and error to help him to decide what kind of things are of interest and floats his boat. The objective is to Be Happy and Contented and to be sure ALL others are doing well, also. Be Well!
IT CAN ALL GET BETTER BY SWAPPING THE NEGLECT and NEGATIVES ONE EXPERIENCES IN LIFE FOR MORE
LIFE AFFIRMING THINGS INSTEAD.
ONE MUST INCREASE HIS/HER ESTEEM and SELF WORTH. ONE GENERALLY OVERHAULS ONES SELF-IMAGE TO SEE HIM/HERSELF IN A BETTER LIGHT.
(BY FACING OURSELVES - FOR EXAMPLE)
HINT: I THINK PEOPLE TEND TO AVOID KNOWING THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY AREN'T CONVINCED THAT THEY ARE 'GOOD ENOUGH' TO BEGIN WITH. THEY THINK THAT THEY WILL BE WORSE THEN WHEN THEY STARTED. NOW THEY WILL BE MORE CONVINCED HOW 'NOT' GOOD ENOUGH THEY ARE.
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT THE GOOD STUFF IS IN THERE, BUT, TO QUOTE OUR OWN JOHN MADDEN - ''THE ROAD TO PARADISE GOES THROUGH THE SEWER!''
TO FIND THE REAL YOU, ONE HAS TO GO THROUGH ALL THE NEGATIVES ONE HAS BEEN PUTTING THERE UNKNOWINGLY...UNTIL IT IS UNCOVERED! IT MAY SEEM TO HAVE NO END...AT THE BEGINNING
FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE AT THE OUTSET WILL EVENTUALLY YIELD MANY REWARDS.
---Here is a book that I read years ago. I re-read much of it AND still think it's great. I highly recommend it. As a matter of fact, I challenge you to read the first 11 pages. I would almost wager that you'll want to continue!
---According to ALL the literature…it ALL
points to one thing, ‘’the happier the resident, the better his physical body
responds to getting better.’’ Some doctors are even linking that what is wrong
with the patient, can be found to have its roots in the psyche. Clearing up
the root cause of the unhappiness usually unblocks the cause for the illness.
What is wrong in the thinking can be affecting the body in a negative way and
be responsible for the condition it’s in. We see that the way a person thinks
has much to do with the way he feels. ---This ALL translates into a ‘’happy
patient results in a better recovery.’’ We have on the other-side…a more
negative response to life making it more difficult to recover. Misery loves
company. ---Thinking positive thoughts and the
positive affect they have on the body has been known for a very longtime.
Confucius even had a quote along those lines thousands of years ago. ---It is important to tell the truth to
yourself. The benefits are well worth it. Sometimes the thoughts that we have
are pretty negative. That is why it is good to have someone to talk to…to get
things off of our chests. We can have two negative people get together at times
and realize that the ‘’bond’’ they have created can be very positive.
Two negatives can make a positive - and this works in human behavior, also.
---Keep your thoughts positive and you do
yourself a favor. If you listen to your body or other nay sayers you may be
dragged into the swamps of how your body feels. Honestly...think good thoughts and of good
times and you will be doing yourself a world of good. Take Care.
---I would, also, like to add that this applies to a more rapid turnover at the hospital, itself. If folks are made well, sooner...they are more ready to move on to their next step in life (whatever that may be.) Above published 2/2013.
Patient Happiness (update) written 4/1/17 ---Happiness is still the attitude we hope for a patient. The happier that he or she is plays in a big way in favor of healing. If he or she is very receptive + accepting of the whole getting well process…then the whole hospital stay will undoubtedly go smoother. ---As we have stated in the past it is essential for the patient to feel that he has been heard and has been taken seriously in his life. Though this situation is something that applies to all of us…this has direct ramifications to the under served population. It seems that people are Laguna Honda patients directy depending on how much they have been heard or taken seriously in there life. Through lack of encouragement at proper times or being given the respect deserved and needed by all children there seems a certain amount of folks that appear as lost souls (never having been heard or taken seriously.) They are NOT shown much of anything, but are expected to have the correct answers, anyway. Achievement and accomplishment tends to be low. They spend a lot of time trying not to come across as dysfunctional as they feel sometimes. They find they easily get addicted to or use things to excess that end up being detrimental to there well-being...in the long run.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
---It, also, has been made clear to me that the benefits of having a GROWTH MINDSET is far and away better than the FIXED MINDSET many of the under served population contend with. One realizes that there is more to life than being a couch potato. There is more going on than just worrying if someone will find out how much you know. You will learn how to learn and, actually, know things. One feels part of things as opposed to feeling excluded from things. One has joined the land of the living again. One has a brand new outlook on life and living.
Upon rereading this piece in Dec., 20, 2020, I was very much replete in what I conveyed. It seems that children at a young age should be encouraged and should be prepared to realize that it is very okay to express yourself and that it is very alright to make mistakes and not be ridiculed for doing that. Trial + error is the way we learn in this life and if one tries to avoid mistakes at all costs, one realizes that he is not going to learn properly. Here is where most people stop AND never learn how to make mistakes AND that mistakes really our our friends in the learning process.
Making mistakes and learning from those mistakes is very important in the way an attitude or way of seeing things is developed. If one only learns the most clever ways to avoid things and spends time trying to impress others so as to look good, then his learning is going to be shallow and will definitely suffer. Something that happens here is that we devise ways that gets our peers to approve our avoidance technique. We take on an air of superiority that we convey that we are ''too cool'' to know this AND we show how ''cool'' we are by avoiding knowing this. We get our peers to support our unknowingness because we get a few positives AND head nods that support our NOT knowing this and this all seems the approval actually is better than knowing whatever the piece of knowledge. We have shown ''the man'' that we don't have to learn this. He doesn't control us AND it is none of his business whether we learn this or not. He never learns to figure things on his own and worries about how he appears to the rest of us. He mistakes the bravado that he feels as toughness and brawn over brain will reign supreme for awhile. He doesn't dive very deep to get his answers. Diving deep is for losers and he certainly is not a loser. His concerns are, basically with how he looks to others.
If one learns to dive more deeply and not worry as to what he may uncover at first, he will soon learn to prioritize and how to discern the relevance of what he uncovers, Trial + error learning will hone down the importance of the things he uncovers. The feeling of accomplishment far and away outweighs where he goes with this...AND he will feel much more authentic in the final outcome.
By intervening properly and at age appropriate times, we are hoping to eradicate the need to be admitted to facilities like this in the first place. What is necessary to be learned will be taught naturally as part of the curriculum and not left out because a few people are still uncomfortable with it. If this is learned early on, it makes things easier all-the-way around. Be Well.
—I’ve been a long term resident/patient at Laguna Honda Hospital for many years. I had a couple strokes and heart attacks along the way. I lived for a time in the old Laguna Honda Hospital and the new in 2010. I remember when Dr. Sweet wrote her book, ‘’God’s Hotel,’’ about LHH. As a matter-of-fact, Dr. Sweet was my doctor, for a time.
—Over the years, I’ve seen many people come and go at LHH. Recently, we have been told other arrangements are being made for the residents/patients…as our funding has been terminated and the powers-that-be are closing down the hospital. This news has horrified many people…residents/patients and staff alike. We aren’t quite sure when this news was made public, but many of us were blindsided by this. It’s like having the rug pulled out from under us.
—Many have asked - Why? What happened? It seems a couple patients overdosed, so the hospital has been defunded heading for a close down. A few years ago there were some employees floating around compromising photos of residents/patients. Those incharge of Social Security have decided that enough is enough. Defund them and shut them down.
—A very sad end to this as there are many, many employees & residents/patients who had no clue that this was happening and really didn’t even know that they were talking about our hospital when this was on the news. Hearing of the closing, one began talking about pushing a shopping cart around Safeway parking lot with his wheelchair asking for spare change. Another speaks of going to live in SFGH emergency room. And, they are not feeling too good on top of it. Not too realistic…but, this reaction oroverreaction makes as much sense as closing Laguna Honda Hospital, to some of us.
—Not everyone who enters Laguna Honda ends up as a drug addict or in a compromised photo. Some, who can, actually thrive and do well. Some are actually released and continue on. To the powers-that-be, we need your support. Please find a different way to fix the problems you’re finding that are much less dramatic and traumatic. A lot of good things take place at LHH. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Thank you!
---This document only came into my possession recently. I remember very vividly and really did think that we had finally found our way out of what we were doing and would finally make some kind of progress with this whole thing. I thought this was a new progressive way to see healthcare. This document provided me with much information I didn’t know and gave me a more complete ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at why something I felt very strong about, failed as it did.
---I would suggest that anyone read the document from the controller’s office and assess why it never had much of a chance. We tried to change a sinking ship and have it ready to sail, again, almost overnight. I remember running into Mayor Gavin Newsom outside of D3 in the old building. He was there for the ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for later on that day. He said I’ll see you at the ribbon cutting ceremony. I told him that I’m protesting the whole thing and am not going. He looked at me quizzically, but had to go. The reason for my protest was that we cosmetically built a new building that would surely impress certain people in the city (which was a very good thing that it did,) but we never did the necessary work touched upon by Lumetra, etc. To this day I think we would have benefited greatly (staff + resident) from many of the suggestions given at the time. Reading the document opened my eyes to things I was not aware of. I’m still working through it. And, NO...it was NOT the NEW GALLEY situation.
---Anyway, I hope that you enjoy reading the 7 page pdf. There are many still here from those times. Be Well and Take Care.
---There is one thing that I would like to add. I am 70 years old now. I was 52 when I had the stroke, etc. Fighting City Hall was easier at a young age. I think that some can now appreciate that it is very different being the helper, then the one who needs the help. At the very least you learn how different being helped by someone who actually wants to be helpful can be. We will all go through this at sometime. Be kind at ALL times. It pays dividends.
---1. The idea that to get anything that you really need, one has to begin the process by giving it. This is essentially the Golden Rule. Whatever behavior that you want shown to you usually begins with you showing that behavior to others. Whether it be hate, love, respect, disrespect, etc., if you want others to treat you kindly then it behooves you to treat others kindly. (Biggest mistake is in waiting for others to treat you the way you want...first.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
---2. Another thing that the patient needs to enjoy living is to be heard and to be taken seriously. Folks must learn how to listen to the resident/patient. They must learn to hear what the resident/patient says. Then he must take him/her seriously. Both are very important and makes a big difference to those who experience this. When this happens for the patient, and he is assured that this has taken place, it frees him to NOT worry about being heard or taken seriously. He will begin to experience more quality in his/her life. His level of enjoyment will skyrocket. Everything will look up. He/she will know himself in a much deeper way, through this process.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
---3. Learning that through the power of YET…one can learn and grow beyond what he/she may have originally thought. One may go from a FIXED MINDSET to a GROWTH MINDSET more easily when one is convinced it may happen. With the knowing of the power of YET, things that aren’t known YET, can now be learned. It is NOW known, through scientific study, that all folks can improve and grow. Understanding effort is the key!