Increasing Acuity, Stagnant Support

Recently, nursing homes seem to be receiving an increase in the acuity and demand of their clientele. Support workers and other first hand support staff can attest to this, stating that “only 10 years ago, we needed less staff and it wasn’t as busy!” There may be many reasons for this increase in acuity. Most notably, people are living longer lives and as a result, are succumbing to the ailments that plague the aged, mainly dementia and cancer. Since 1980, the life expectancy in Canada has increased by just over 6 years (StatsCanada, 2015). The rate of illness and morbidity is also increasing and as a result the demand on long term care facilities is increasing.

Which PRN Medication to use?

If you work within an institutionalized geriatric population, you have likely experienced first hand the plethora of behavioural complexities that can plague this demographic. In response, you may have found yourself looking through pages of possible PRN Medications, from hypnotics to anti-psychotics, asking yourself “Which PRN medication should I use?”. I know I have personally come across this problem many, many times.