What role do CNAs play at Nexus Neurorecovery Center?
Certifiend Nursing Assistants (CNAs) at Nexus Neurorecovery Center are the backbone of what we do. They function is the heavy lifting and they do all the dirty work, literally and figuratively, that we forget patients need. So, they function as everything from basic caregiver to support system and in most cases, to, um, surrogate family members from time to time.
How is the CNA’s role at Nexus Neurorecovery Center different than at a hospital or nursing home?
CNA work is the same in every setting, but the setting at Nexus Neuro Recovery Center is what makes being a Certified Nursing Assistant different out here. You get to see patients for longer periods of time. It’s not just providing care for them, but it’s really walking with them through their recovery journey. You see patients come in in a motorized power chair and you see them leave walking, but you are part of making that happen. You’re not just giving them a bath. You are reminding them how to give themselves a bath and helping them reprogram their brain so that they can return to a life of productivity and meaning.
What are the pros and cons of being a Certified Nursing Assistant?
One of the challenges that CNAs face is feeling perhaps unappreciated, not being recognized for the role that they play and how important it is. It’s also maybe feeling as if they are underpaid. But the pros of this is if you are people-centric, then that’s truly fulfilling no matter what the price tag is, right? And so that you are able to use that as your motivation to the way in which you administer care.
What does a typical day look like for CNAs at Nexus Neurorecovery Center?
A typical day for a CNA, especially if you work in my house, which is the Somerset house, which is for our long-term care for patients. It consists of wake-up time. So, they’re the first face, you are the first face that they will see, right? And, of course administering basic ADLs, hygiene, combing their hair, brushing their teeth, all of that. Assisting the nurses in in their medication routine as well as get getting them ready for breakfast and preparing them for their day, where they will go to programming, and they will spend their at programming from nine till three. But you are also participating in that activity as well. Once they arrive back to their houses, then that’s where we are preparing for dinner, we’re preparing for a snack, doing, um, in-home exercise, um, activities, we’re just, you know, they’re just enjoying being at home because this is where they live, right? So, for our long-term care residents, yes. And getting them prepared for their, their nighttime routine shower, et cetera. So that’s a typical day.
Why is the CNA’s role so important?
The CNAs and the LSS staff. The direct care staff, to me, the most important thing that we can do out here is get to know the residents on a personal level. And they have that opportunity probably better than anyone else out here. They are the first bright smile that a resident sees in the morning, and usually they’re the last warm touch that they get before they go to bed. And so having that opportunity to see them every day at their best, at their worst, they have a great way to make each day a little bit better for our residents and, and maybe a little bit better than the day before. Because having the residents, um, know someone that knows their preferences, their likes and their dislikes, and being able to bring that familiarity to them really sets up the foundation for them to recover and, and start on that healing journey.
How do CNAs support residents as they progress to reach goals?
CNAs are part of the culture at Nexus, no recovery center in a way that is different than anywhere else. We like to call ourselves a prosthetic environment and that we support our residents and we provide them structure to really learn the task that they’re being taught when they’re in programming and clinical time so that they can carry it over and eventually go home.
What is the CNA’s role with residents’ families?
The CNAs get to know the families. Again, they get to know the, the residents on a very personal level. And a lot of that has to do with the families as well. They get to know the families, especially the, that come in frequently every day at a certain time or every weekend, and they get to know those preferences. They get to know the individual who they were before their injury or their illness. And I think that is so vital to being able, uh, to make the stay here and their experience here a lot more meaningful.
What is the ideal person like who would make a great CNA?
The best CNAs to come work at Nexus Neurorecovery Center are the ones who love the work because the residents aren’t always easy and the work isn’t always easy, but when you have a passion for what you’re doing, you find the joy in every day.
What attributes would make someone a successful CNA at Nexus Neurorecovery Center?
A successful Certfied Nursing Assistant here at Nexus has to have a heart for and a passion for people and for people of all different abilities. People of all different beliefs, cultures, they just have to have a heart for people, and know that what they’re doing truly is making a difference in their lives.
What are some characteristics of a person who would not be as successful as a Certfied Nursing Assistant?
If you are not self-motivated. If you are not disciplined. If you run away from challenges, then this is definitely not the place for you.
How is Nexus Neurorecovery Center different than other post-acute rehabilitation?
The Nexus feel is a very family feel, but it still has some of the perks of being a larger company as well. But the great thing I think is we get to do things a little bit quicker. There’s not as much red tape. We can move through pro processes and ideas a little faster than sometimes the larger corporations,
What types of individuals does Nexus Neurorecovery Center serve?
Patients or residents who are served at Nexus Neurorecovery Center have all had some sort of neurological injury, whether it’s a stroke or a spinal cord injury, or maybe they’ve had an accident at work or they had an accident where they lost oxygen to their brain for a long time and some sort of acquired brain injury as well. So they all work through their recovery at different speeds. Some of them have behavioral issues. Um, we like to say we take the ones that can’t go anywhere else.
What is it like working on a team at Nexus Neurorecovery Center?
It’s that mutual respect. They know what I bring and they respect that, and they bring what they know what they bring. And I respect that and we work together. See, I believe that why companies do not work is because when you work with, when you are working within an organization, it is not an individual pursuit. It’s shared pursuit. And once you have that mindset in understanding, going to school is an individual pursuit and you get your accomplishments and that’s great, but the minute you start, you have to be able to collaborate. You have to be able to, to, to, to, to be a united team. Understand that where you fall short, oh, I’m good at this. So the boat is still going to keep afloat. We’re not sinking here. I will start with the patience. I enjoy working, bringing meaning back into their lives, um, after such a traumatic experience. That’s what really, um, makes me feel. Well, and also working with people who have the share, who, who share the same pursuits with.
What is the vision of Nexus Neurorecovery Center?
Read the book by Dr. Cassidy so that you can understand what his vision is and then you align yourself to what his vision is. That’s what’s been around for all this time. So once you are in alignment, then even the way in which you speak to the resident, the way in which you speak to your peers, the way in which you, you, you, you take direction from, you know, administration and what they, their expectations are. You get it. It’s an easy flow. I don’t have bad days. I have days every day I go home and I know that I have 14 residents that I am responsible for and it’s a puzzle. Okay? So connect the dots. I don’t know what the picture we’re trying to create yet, but I know that all we’re trying to do is get to the next dot. And that’s how I view working here every single day.
