Assignment #2

     Mr. Anthony is an extremely sweet man who was given a raw deal.  When one first encounters him, he seems to be very content in his surroundings.  Unfortunately, Mr. Anthony has been stuck in a nursing home for the past few months because of problems with his insurance.  He is a man who has worked all his life and is, but did not make the kind of money which is needed to privately hire a home attendant.  Mr. Anthony is now being punished by the government for not being poor and not being rich.
     When one refers to behavior, he or she is referring to what people do, not a disorder that a person may have.  Behaviors include how peoplem the way they think, and the way they move.  For example, the amount of time a man may spend with his family after a long day at the office (Bloom, Fischer, & Orme, 2009).  This would be an over behavior, something that other people can see.  On the other hand, there are also overt behaviors; things that other people cannot see, rather thoughst a person may have.  Mr. Anthony is the type of person who likes to be productive.  He enjoys reading, walking, listening to music, and many other things.  After his fall, Mr. Anthony came to the nursing home for what he thought was a short visit to regain his strength.  As it turns out, Mr. Anthony is now stuck, and is unable to do the things he loves most.  Mr. Anthony feels as though he has lost his independence and he feels that the things that interest him most are no longer available to him.  In addition, Mr. Anthony is having negative thoughts which are beginning to bring him down.  For example, there is a library in the facility, but the books that are offered do not peak his interest, and he is unable to go out and get a book which is more to his liking.  Mr. Anthony has said that he would like to go home and live out the remainder of his life where is he comfortable, but because of his insurance problems this is not an option.
     Mr. Anthony needs 24 hour care, and he is not able to afford to privately hire an aid.  His current insurance company will not pay for Mr. Anthony to get more than a few hours of help per day.  Mr. Anthony's wife and son are trying to get Medicaid for him, but he has a very large spend down and his wife is not sure that she wants to have to give up so much money.
     It is important to discuss the client's concerns whent trying to figure where to start.  This way the social worker may the client to stay focused on what he or she has decided to work on (Bloom, Fischer, & Orme, 2009).  Mr. Anthony has tried extremely hard to stay positive throughout all of this.  He feels that being positive is the only way to get through the hard time he is facing.  Unfortunately, he has become increasingly sad.  It is important to figure out how mant behaviors will be worked with.  The reson for this it may be confusing and frustrating to be working with too many things at once (Bloom, Fischer, & Orme, 2009).  We have decided that for now we will work on keeping him positive and motivated.  Mr. Anthony's feelings of negativity are not feelings one is able to see just by looking at him or speaking to him for a few minutes, one must know him in order to see it.  I have asked him to try and keep track of how often he is feeling down and how often he is feeling more positive.  This way we may be able to start working on how to make him feel a little bit better.  The reason I have asked Mr. Anthony to start keeping track of the amount of time he is feeling sad is, only Mr. Anthony himself know what he is feeling.  He is the only one who really knows what his overt behaviors are.  Others are not able to keep track of his overt behaviors because they cannot see them (Bloom, Fischer, & Orme, 2009).  Mr. Anthony and I will soon begin using a self-anchoring scale.  The scale will include all numbers between one and ten.  One will represent extreme lack of motivation and the number ten will represent extreme motivation, and Mr. Anthony feeling like he would like to make new friends or go to an activity.
     When told about being a part of this study, Mr. Anthony was a little apprehensive and first, but after he understood that everything was to be kept completely confidential, he felt more confidant and even a little excited.  It seems like even though Mr. Anthony is stuck in the nursing home, he feels like he is doing something good by helping me learn to become a better social worker.
     My supervisor was a little bit hesitant about this assignment at first.  She seemed a but overwhelmed at the thought of it.  We work on one of the busiest floors in the facility, and to give me up for so much time when she is desperately in need of extra hands, is overwhelming.  However, she puts my education first and allows me to go speak to Mr. Anthony whenever I need to.

References

Bloom, M., & Joel, F. (2009). Evaluating Practice: Guidelines for the Accountable Professional (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Higher Education.

Blog Assignment #1

     I am currently working in a nursing home which for the purpose of this assignment will be called, The Lilly. This nursing home caters to the various different needs of the elderly, the types of services offered range from short term rehabilitation to long-term independent living.  I am currently working on the rehab unit, and therefore do not see the same clients long-term.  The people I am working with are usually people who may have had some sort of surgery or stroke, and have now come to The Lilly to regain their strength.  

     It is very common to come across people on the unit who feel that due to their circumstances they have failed both themselves and their loved ones.  Many people feel that they could have avoided their current situation, and due to their foolishness ended up in a nursing home.  Some feel depressed due to their lack of independence.  there is a great deal of denial on the unit, people are unable to comprehend that they are no longer as strong or as independent as they once were.  When it comes time for a resident to be discharged, he or she is told that there will be a home care agency coming to the resident's home for several hours a week to help the resident out with activities of daily living.  Often times the resident will feel the need to fight this, for the resident may feel that he or she is capable enough to do everything without the help of an aid.  

     There are some times when a resident is not able to return home, and he or she may be moved to a different unit in the facility.  For the purpose of this assignment, I have decided to find a resident on a different unit who came from the rehab floor.  I decided to speak to a man named Mr. Anthony.  Mr. Anthony started out at The Lilly in the beginning December of 2010, due to a fall.  Mr. Anthony was supposed to be discharged at the end of December, but was unable to go home due to complications with his insurance.  As a result, Mr. Anthony will be staying at The Lilly until his insurance problems are resolved.