Omotoyosi Ogedengbe is a nursing student actively caring for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s in care homes. She has spent the last few months raising awareness about the conditions within the nursing community and home care industry alike.
“If your mom or your dad is in a care home, you should consider bringing something,” says Ogedengbe.
Sometimes the simplest gestures are the ones that often go forgotten when people help their parents transition to care homes across the U.S.
“A simple picture can go a long way to remind your loved ones about the special moments,” says Omotoyosi Ogedengbe.
Ogedengbe says it’s also up to nurses and care home management to ensure that patients are comfortable at all times.
Sometimes patients with memory loss may say things that don’t make sense in the moment, but it’s important to acknowledge them and listen. Even if you don’t understand, listening goes a long way to validate and make others feel heard.
Omotoyosi Ogedengbe recalls a nurse she was caring for with memory loss, and she would often relay instructions as if she was still working in a hospital environment. Things like, ‘I need to go to room two’ or something of that nature would be commonplace.
Ogedengbe says her response to this situation was to acknowledge her and listen before moving on, and help her transition to the next task which would be to clean up or prepare for the next item on her schedule.
By treating each patient with dementia or Alzheimer’s with care and acknowledging their wants and wishes, they’re also more likely to trust you and be willing to follow your suggestions.
“At the end of the day, if they’re happy and you’re improving their experience, you’re doing the best you can do,” says Ogedengbe.
Another tip Ogedengbe employs is gently suggesting the next step on the patient’s care list without pressuring them. So, if a patient decides that they want to do a particular activity, instead of refusing, Ogedengbe tells the patient they can choose another activity later but for now, they will be cleaning up or doing self-care.
While any form of neurodegenerative disease is unfortunate and at times unpredicable, quality care as well as genuine compassion can go a long way towards ensuring patients are comfortable and happy.
One of the reasons why Omotoyosi Ogedengbe is advocating for higher quality care is because she believes that nurses have the fundamentals down, but taking note of the small things and making minor improvements along the way will make all the difference when it comes to patient comfort.
“They’re people and they deserve respect,” says Ogedengbe.
