So the happy background for all this brain-expanding is Fort St John Hospital. It's brand new. Like, BRAND new. As in, only a couple of months old. They're still finding very silly things that people forget about when they're building a new building, such as methods of access during off-hours. A pt's family actually couldn't get into the building when the pt was passing away, it was horrible, because all they could do is page the nurses' desk, and who's likely to be around to pick up the phone at bedtime? Also the hilariously slippery entrance to the long term care building: Smooth, guys. The old building, however, is in such disrepair that apparently the cheapest thing they can do is tear it down. And by cheapest I do NOT mean cheap.
The old hospital was this super cute old brick building, but the wiring was sketchy and it was about 60 years old.
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| Sorry it's fuzzy, tis a google picture. |
And now, the NEW one!!
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| Acute side |
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| Peace Villa (long term care) |
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| Thought it was only fair to include a snow picture, since that's kind of a regular state for it. |
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| The street in front of ze hospital. |
So the acute side only has something like 55 beds + maternity, but the LTC side, which is attached, has I think 10 'pods', or units. There's the tree side, with Birch, Pine, Spruce, etc, and the flower side including Marigold, Sunflower, Bluebell, Tulip, etc. There are at least two locked wards for wandering patients. It's pretty nice, too. Pretty sure I'd be okay with living there when I was old although it's not as nice as Rotary Manor in Dawson (seriously, so nice. It makes ageing look a lot better.) I've seen everything from stroke victims in their 40's to a few patients in their hundreds and counting. I find the ones who SEEM totally normal and functional, but then turn around and do something completely bizarre, the most interesting.
I do a lot of spying during meals to see if patients can swallow okay and the like. Today I sat down with 3 ladies during their lunch and had a good gab fest for half an hour while they ate (it was super cute, they were waiting for me to get lunch before I started, I had to assure them I already ate.) A lot of people don't much like having you stare at them while they're eating - I'm starting to learn it's a hugely personal thing. Sitting down and shooting the breeze isn't always an option either, if you're watching their throat closely to see if the reflex is still in place, or if they're completely out of it. Mind you, just because they look out of it doesn't mean they are; one lady who generally is a bit out to lunch saw us watching and gave us a definite shoo. I sort of get that, I think. I remember in high school for a while I was just bringing juice boxes for lunch because I didn't like eating in front of other people. Thank goodness I grew out of THAT, but it went on off and on for about a year. As I've said before, it can be so easy to forget the personalities of people that seem to be long gone. Just because we can't see it, don't mean it ain't there, homeslice.
I also do some diabetes ed, although it's not as demanding time-wise as it was in DC. There, you're LUCKY if you get a break. The demand here just doesn't seem quite so high. I've also gotten to do some community stuff, which is neat. By that, I mean visiting patients in the community, sometimes group homes and sometimes private residences. One place had 5 dogs and a cat - I was thrilled! Naturally, I paid very little attention to what was going on in that one, too distracted by the promise of fur (and also allergies. There were good reasons for me to switch to dietetics from my original career plan as a vet.) It's interesting to see people in their homes; they're a bit more relaxed, a bit more comfortable, and then you have a way better idea of what they're up against when it comes to everyday life. It can be daunting; hemiparesis and still trying to run around after kids; trying to commute with a tube feed bag hanging in your car; gradually losing your ability to swallow. Yeesh. I don't know how some of these people do it.
It is starting to pick up here, which I like. I also have a coffee date with a friend of a friend (we met by accident today) this week, am seeing an old friend from 1st year dorms, and possibly more. I would SO WELCOME any sort of non work-related social interaction at this point. It's a bit isolating, not so much because I don't meet anyone but because I'm leaving so soon. Makes it very hard to cultivate some sort of relationship. Here's to having much less time to work out this week, amirite?
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