Last post Sat, Aug 09 2008 1:02 PM by beckywatson49. 18 replies.
I WANT TO SAY WE USED A SERVICE FOR MY MOTHER AND SHE WAS TREATED WITH GREAT RESPECT ! THEY WOULD ALWAYS GREET HER WITH A SMILE AND KIND GREETING ! I KNEW DURING THE TRANSPORT THAT MY MOTHER WAS IN SAFE HANDS . I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ! I KNOW THE EDERLY CAN BE A HAND FULL AT TIMES ! WE WOULD TEASE MOM AD TELL HER TO BEHAVE AND NO FLIRTING WITH THE DRIVER ! HA HA ........ONCE AGAIN NO EASY JOB .....THANK YOU !!!! RAINEY XO
Hi Rainey, and thanks a lot!
Most all of my client's family members are very helpfull and appreciative of our service. They recognize that we get to know our clients well and take the best care of them we can.
I'm very happy that you and your Mom had a positive experience with your driver(s). I can guarantee you, that you probably made his or her day too!
FriPilot
When my grandmother first became ill she used medial transport to get to her appointments and she loved it! I think my mom did, in fact, make the driver some cookies.
One of my former foster kids worked for a while as a CNA. She often talked about patients with dementia needing bed alarms to prevent them from getting out of bed alone and possibly injuring themselves. Are there any such safety precautions in transport vehicles? If not I think there's potential for serious liability issues.
Devorella, I see those alarms connected to many of my client's chairs. It sort of concerns me. Most all of them use seat belts on the chairs, but we seatbelt every single passenger, regardless of whether or not they have thier own belt. If nothing else, they are NOT going to leave that chair.
You understand my remarks about the need for attendents on some trips.
Thank you very much, Norma. I really appreciate your thoughts.
This has certainly become a labor of love. It sure isn't because they
pay us extraordinaraly well.
I've found that a greeting, a big smile, sharing a few words, even when I'm
not sure that they've been "heard", and a touch on the shoulder, work wonders.
I guess I don't have to tell you these things, given your nursing home experience.
Interestingly, lately my boss has been forced by staff cutbacks and rising fuel costs,
to get in one of the vans and actually interact with our clients more than he normally
would. I think it's been a re-awakening for him. Now it's HIM who comes into the
office saying "dang, that guy IS a pain!" or "Geez, that doctor's office IS nearly
impossible to get into". Or my favorite, when he comes in and says "Wow Mrs.
So And So really IS a sweet old girl!". I think he's begun to re-realize why he's in the
business that he is, other than it making money for us.
My next project is to get our office manager/dispatcher out in the van with me
for a day. She has worked in nursing homes too, and realizes those challenges. She
also hears my frustration on the radio in the afternoons when I have 4 or 5 or 6
clients lined up waiting to be taken home. She knows that when I tell her "I'll put
him/her on my list" that I'm getting real backed up. I'd like to take her along one
day just to see what our days are like. I think it would be very enlightening!
Anyway, thanks again. Your remarks, and those of the others, have made me smile
this morning!
Jon
FriPilot: Devorella, I see those alarms connected to many of my client's chairs. It sort of concerns me. Most all of them use seat belts on the chairs, but we seatbelt every single passenger, regardless of whether or not they have thier own belt. If nothing else, they are NOT going to leave that chair. You understand my remarks about the need for attendents on some trips. FriPilot
I am glad to hear at least there is less likelihood of injury! It would be very nice if necessary services would recieve the funding they deserved, but I think we all know how that goes. Keep fighting the good fight!
Hey Tripilot! Welcome to Disaboom. You concern for your transportees is obvious and very touching. While I have never had the occasion to use transport for either a friend or relative, I hope if they one day need it, you (or someone just like you)are at the wheel. My grandmother was transported to her appointments by one of her family members. It's tragic that our elderly are cared for in the ways that they are. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Becky
Hey Jon, You are the unsung HERO in our midst! Thanks to you and all those like you who shuttle us to and from appointments with a smile and a friendly word. Sometimes in the heat and our own discomfort we forget how to be nice. You see our frustration, our disapointment, our embarassment and dismay. All the while you are stead-fast and kind. For all of those disabled and forlorned people who forget to say thank you, I say, Thank you Jon for being there for us! You Rock!!!
pambe
JON, IF YOU ARE AS KIND AND PLEASANT WITH YOUR CLIENTS AS YOU WERE TO ME IN THE CHAT ROOM .....THEY ARE VERY FORTUNATE............ WAS A PRIVILAGE GETTING TO KNOW YOU THIS MORNING ......... RAINEY XO
Thanks, Pambe, but I'm not a hero. I'm just a guy doing his job.
I will say, however, that having worked for 25 in service driven industries has certainly helped me. Also, being older and having lost parents, both with the complications of being old and coupled with dementia in the past 5 years, has helped too. I guess you might say that I had a bit of an awakening. I fell into the transporter job entirely by accident (or DID I?).
I had just spent 20 years working for the Dept. Of The Army in food and beverage. After that long, for several reasons, it was time for me to leave. I had driven semi trucks before and thought that I might do that again. I went to CDL school and got my license. I found myself out on the road, but quickly learned that my night vision isn't what it used to be. The eye strain I endured was debilitating. One day, the truck I was on came near my home. I took that chance to leave the truck for the sake of safety. That put me in the job market again.
I believe that some jobs we find, other jobs find us. This job found me. And it fits! I'm very happy to be one of the people who bring a smile to the faces of those who are most often, the most neglected of our society.
You haven't heard the last of me, Missy! *evil grin*
Thanks Rainey I'll be looking for you.
Here's hoping that your day's social event went OK. Remember, if you can't duck, bob and weave!
I MADE IT OUT ALIVE ! HE HE WAS NICE TO GET OUT AND MY FAMILY WAS LOVELY ~~~~~~~~~~ I AM SO SORE AND TOMORROW WILL BE EVEN WORSE ~ GRRRRRRRR I NEED A VAN ! RAINEY XO
You are, indeed, one of the unsung heroes of the disability community. Many of us are cranky about any transportation because it means additonal pain, and the situations you describe are very scary indeed. You have my sincere thanks for the job you and you co-workers do, and the professional attitude you have expressed, as well as the concerns.
I worry that as we fill up the nursing homes with the baby boom generation, this situation will only get worse, and that cost cuts will continue. We need to find a way, now, to work with these issues, and move them up in our priorities of advocacy as we work in the political sphere to expand the realm of our current and future care.
Thank you for your job, daily well done, and for sharing this with the community. Warmest regards, bonnie
