39.0°

"This job makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile," said Molly Kay about her work as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Hospice and Home Care of Juneau. "I love meeting the patients and families, and I enjoy helping to make their days or weeks as comfortable as possible."

Kay is one of two CNAs who are part of the ★★CJ interdisciplinary team. They join with nurses, physicians, a social worker, an occupational and physical therapist, a speech therapist, a bereavement counselor, and skilled volunteers to help clients who are nearing the end of life or are homebound and needing skilled nursing care.

"We help patients with the same things most people do in the morning," Kay said: wash their face, brush their teeth, comb their hair, maybe clean their dentures. We might give bed baths, change the beds, or do laundry. If a patient is getting physical therapy, I might help them follow the therapist's instructions for exercises. Also, if families are caring for them, when we come in it gives the family a little break."

Kay said she went through school, trained 'on-the-floor,' and took a test to earn certification, and it must be renewed every two years. "You have to do 12 hours of inservice and 60 hours of employment each year," she said. "You learn body mechanics - how to roll a patient from side to side in a bed, how to move them from the bed to a chair without injuring yourself or them, and every year you review major issues, such as dealing with fire or other disasters, and avoiding blood-borne pathogens." You also learn about new products to help patients, such as the new no-rinse wash cloths you heat in a microwave. "The patients just love them," she said.

Kay has been a certified nursing assistant for 32 years, and she's worked with Hospice in Juneau for the past 10 years. "I have lots of memories," she said, "and they're all wonderful. It used to be real hard, but you have to love the people. They depend on you. One gentleman kept saying 'I can't thank you enough.' Then you just say, 'It's all from my heart.' And when you lose somebody, you don't lose your memories of them. You're glad they're out of pain and in a much better place."

Rita George has been a CNA with Hospice and Home Care since April. "I had a friend who was doing CNA," she said. "She asked me to help her, and I did. Then I took training in the CNA program at the University last fall, did practicums at the Pioneers Home and Wildflower Court, and passed the state board written exam." Like Kay, she visits ★★CJ patients for an hour once or several times a week, and works under the supervision of a nurse.

"What we do depends on the client's needs," she said, "and on whatever is in the ★★CJ care plan. We might give showers, or provide foot or skin care. We might offer to prepare food or help in whatever way we can. I find it very rewarding, and the families and clients are most appreciative. I'm glad I found this profession, even though it came to me a little late in life."

Arna Waterhouse, ★★CJ clinical coordinator and a registered nurse, said CNAs are 'where the rubber meets the road.' They do some of the most direct patient care-the kinds of things families sometimes find difficult to do. "If a patient has had a good bath and had their hair done, if they feel comfortable and feel they're presentable, they're often more receptive." Besides that, Waterhouse said, because CNAs work so closely with patients they may notice changes-that a patient has difficulty getting into the shower, for example, or has pain when turned a certain way for a bed bath. Then they might bring up ideas to improve the patient's care plan. "We couldn't do what we do without their help," she said.

• Marge Osborn is a Hospice and Home Care of Juneau volunteer. Hospice and Home Care of Juneau is a program of Catholic Community Service. CCS serves all persons regardless of their faith.

Hospice and Home Care of Juneau is a program of Catholic Community Service. CCS serves all persons regardless of their faith. Marge Osborn is a Hospice and Home Care of Juneau volunteer.