AHRQ Safety Program for Long-Term Care: HAIs/CAUTI
Getting to know your health care team helps you get the best care possible.
The members of your health care team include:
- You
- Family or friends, as you wish.
- Facility administrators or leaders.
- Direct-care staff: physicians, nurses, aides.
- Support staff.
When they enter your room, all staff should tell you their name, what their role is, and what they do. If you don't know who someone is or why he or she is in your room, ask.
You and Your Family or Friends
You are part of your health care team. Doctors and nurses may know more about medicine, but you are the expert on you and your preferences. Your family and friends can be a part of your health care team, if you like. At [insert facility name], families and friends are not only visitors but also can be part of your health care team. They can give you comfort and support. They also can tell your doctors and nurses about your needs and concerns.
Nursing Home Administrator
Your nursing home administrator is responsible for the overall management, leadership, growth, and profitability of the facility. The administrator plans, develops, directs, monitors, and supports all operational, administrative, clinical, human resources, customer service, and financial activities for the programs and services provided in the nursing home.
Name of my administrator:
_____________________________
Contact information:
_____________________________
Attending Physician
The attending physician is in charge of your medical care. The facility will ensure that the medical care of each resident is supervised by a physician who assumes the principal obligation and responsibility to manage the resident's medical condition and who agrees to visit the resident as often as necessary to address the resident's medical care needs. Each resident shall remain under the care of a physician and shall be provided care that meets prevailing standards of medical care and services.
Name of my attending physician:
_____________________________
Contact information:
_____________________________
Nursing
Several types of nurses work in the facility.
The director of nursing is responsible for the delivery of nursing services. He or she is responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of nursing care and services provided to the residents.
Registered nurses take care of you at the bedside. They give you medicines, take care of your wounds, and make sure everything is going OK. Registered nurses can help with any questions you have. If they don't have the answers, they will find out and get back to you.
Licensed practical nurses provide basic nursing services. They perform simple medical procedures under the supervision of a doctor or a registered nurse. They give you medicines and take your blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature.
Certified nursing assistants help licensed nurses but do not have a license for patient care. Nursing assistants, also called nurse aides, help patients with their basic needs, such as eating, drinking, walking, bathing, and going to the bathroom.
Therapy
Speech therapists diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders.
Physical therapists diagnose and treat individuals who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.
Social Services
Social workers guide facility staff in matters of residency advocacy and protection and promotion of residents' rights. They work with residents in the nursing home by identifying their psychosocial, mental, and emotional needs along with providing, developing, and/or aiding in the access of services to meet those needs.
Dietary
The dietary manager manages the facilities' food and nutrition department. They provide nourishing and well-balanced meals to meet the daily nutritional and special delivery needs of each resident.
Activities
The activities director provides an ongoing program of activities. The activities director ensures activities meet the interests and physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident.
Environmental Services
The environmental services manager coordinates activities of housekeeping and maintenance personnel. He or she oversees the cleanliness of resident rooms and common facility areas as well as the appropriate handling/laundering of facility linens and resident clothing.
These and other members of your health care team help with your care in different ways. Ask your nurse if you have questions. Talk with your nurse about whether it would be helpful for you to speak with other nursing home staff about your care.
