I once worked at a nursing home in Ocean Springs, Ms. When I worked at
that nursing home, I got paid four dollars and twenty five cents an hour.
on Mondays and Thursdays, my job was to call bingo to the patients. I only
worked three hours a day on the days we played Bingo. I enjoyed calling
Bingo. There was this one patient who I will call (Ms. Tee). I really liked

her. She reminded me of my mother. Ms. Tee loved to talk. She would always
tell stories about her younger life, as a nurse. She was eighty nine years
old when I met her. She was about one of five patients who played Bingo
with me every week.

On the weekends, I worked about ten to thirteen hours each day at that
nursing home. There were many patients, but only three workers. One of
the workers only did the cooking and dishes. From sun up to sun down,
me and the other worker had to do all the other chores. We started the
day by giving medicines to the patients. I hated to give medicines to
patients. I felt as if a person who had previous knowledge about
medications should have been hired to deal directly with those patients
health matters. Each patient had a basket of medications with about
five different types of medicines in each basket. It would have been
very easy to get those medicines confused; because some looked liked
aspirins, but were powerful heart pills.

After we gave each patient their medicines, we had to comb hair, bathe
them and lead them to breakfast. We had to vacuum, dust and clean each
patients room. Most of the patients wore adult size pampers: therefore,
throughout the day we had to change soiled pampers. We also had to change
and wash the patients clothes and their bed liens. The was this one
patient, we called the stripper, because she always took her clothes
off and walked naked into the rooms of male patients. Sometimes, Ms Tee,
who loved to sit in a chair in the hallway, would yell for one of us
two workers to let us know that the stripper was taking her clothes off
in the hallway. In my heart, I knew that the stripper was not taking
her clothes off on purpose. She was just a sick little old lady. She
was not aware of her actions.

I continued to visit those patients, after I quit that job at the nursing
home. I felt as if those old people who lived at that home were family to
me. I remember, one day this old patient (I'll call) Jim had an old girl-
friend to visit him one weekend. When she left he began to cry. That
hurt me far beyond words could explain. I remember, Jim as a kind old
man who loved to flirt and share peppermint candies with the workers.
I knew he was not a diabetic patient, so I even took him a big bag of
peppermint candies to share. I'm glad to say that simply act of kindness
on my behalf made another person happy. There were some residents at
that home that I will probably remember forever even though they were
in my life for a brief period of time. I learned many valuable lessons
by working with the patients at that nursing home. The last time I visited
that nursing home I was told that both Ms Tee and Jim had past away. I
know that wherever they are, they are truly at peace. When I worked at
that nursing home I never witness any harm being done to those patients.
If you have a loved one in a nursing home you should go vist them as often
as you can find time to go visit them.

Learn more about this author, Juanita Gooden.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Nursing and Assisted Care Homes: Common misconceptions?
We want to hear your view. Write now!