Activities Assistant- CNA

Purpose of Your Job Position

The primary purpose of your position is provide each of your assigned residents with routine daily nursing care and services in accordance with the resident’s assessment and care plan, and any other duties that may be directed by your supervisor.

Delegation of Authority

As Certified Nursing Assistant you are delegated the administrative authority, responsibility, and accountability necessary for carrying out your assigned duties.

Job Function

Every effort has been made to identify the essential functions of this position. However, it in no way states or implies that these are the only duties you will be required to perform. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or is an essential function of the position.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist in the development, organization, and implementation of a program of activities to meet the social, emotional, physical and other therapeutic needs of residents
• Promote daily activities both within the facility and outside the facility
• Ensure that the required assistance is provided to residents for activities and events as necessary.
• Provide in room activities for residents who are unable to attend daily events.
• Assist in the creation of an ongoing calendar of activities that creatively meets multiple needs and is accessible and appealing to both men and women of all ages and abilities.
• One year experience or related experience performing activity related duties.
• Knowledge of the aging process and various resident activities.
• Effective verbal and written English communication skills.
• Excellent creative and communication skills.
• Passion for working with individuals who have cognitive, physical or sensory disabilities

Administrative Functions

• Use the wristband or photo card file to identify residents before administering treatments, serving meals, etc., as necessary.
• Record all entries on flow sheets, notes, charts, and computer programs in an informative and descriptive manner.
• Use only authorized abbreviations established by the Facility when recording information.
• Report all changes in the resident’s condition to the Nurse Supervisor, LPN, or RN, as soon as possible.
• Report all accidents and incidents you observe on the shift that they occur.

Admission, Transfer, and Discharge Functions

• Ensure that the resident’s room is ready for receiving the resident (i.e., bed made, name tags up, admission kit available, etc.).
• Greet residents and escort them to their room.
• Introduce resident to his/her roommate, if any, and other residents and personnel, as appropriate.
• Make resident comfortable (i.e., put to bed, get water, etc.).
• Inventory and mark the resident’s personal possessions as instructed.
• Store resident’s clothing.
• Assist residents with packing their personal possessions when they are being transferred to a new room, or when being discharged

Personnel Functions

• Perform all assigned tasks in accordance with our established policies and procedures, and as instructed by your supervisors.
• Follow work assignments, and/or work schedules in completing and performing your assigned tasks.
• Cooperate with inter-departmental personnel, as well as other Facility personnel to ensure that nursing services can be adequately maintained to meet the needs of the residents.
• Meet with your shift’s nursing personnel, on a regularly scheduled basis, to assist in identifying and correcting problem areas, and/or the improvement of services.
• Report all complaints and grievances made by the resident.
• Report occupational exposures to blood, body fluids, infectious materials, and hazardous chemicals to your supervisor.

Personal Nursing Care Functions

• Participate in and receive the nursing report upon reporting for duty.
• Follow established policies concerning exposure to blood or body fluids.
• Assist residents with daily dental and mouth care (i.e. brushing teeth or dentures, oral hygiene, special mouth care, etc.).
• Assist residents with bath functions (i.e. bed bath, tub or shower bath, etc.) as directed.
• Assist residents with dressing and undressing, as necessary.
• Assist residents with hair care functions (i.e. combing, brushing, shampooing, etc.).
• Assist residents with nail care (i.e. clipping, trimming, and cleaning the finger or toenails). (Note: Does not include diabetic residents.).
• Shave male residents.
• Keep hair on female residents’ clean-shaven (i.e. facial hair, under arms, on legs, etc.), as instructed.
• Keep residents dry (i.e. change gown, clothing, linen, etc., when it becomes wet or soiled).
• Change bed linens. Keep linens tight to avoid wrinkles from forming under the resident.
• Make beds (occupied and unoccupied).
• Put extra covers on beds, as requested.
• Position bedfast residents in correct and comfortable position.
• Assist resident with bowel and bladder functions (i.e. take to bathroom, offer bedpan or urinal. Portable commode, etc.).
• Maintain intake and output records, as instructed.
• Keep incontinent residents clean and dry.
• Check and report bowel movements and character of stools, as instructed.
• Prepare and fix enemas. Report results as instructed.
• Collect specimens (i.e. urine, sputum, stools, etc.), as instructed.
• Assist residents in preparing for medical tests (i.e. lab work, x-ray, therapy, dental, etc.).
• Assist residents in preparing for activity and social programs (i.e. church services, parties, visitors, etc.).
• Assist in transporting residents to and from appointments, activity and social programs, etc., as necessary.
• Assist with lifting, turning, moving, positioning, and transporting residents into and out of beds, chairs, bathtubs, wheelchairs, lifts, etc.
• Assist residents to walk with or without self-help devices, as instructed.
• Perform restorative and rehabilitative procedures, as instructed.
• Change dressings, bandages, binders, etc., as instructed.
• Provide eye and ear care (i.e. warm or cold compresses, eye or ear instillation, cleaning eyeglasses or hearing aids, etc.), as instructed.
• Assist with the application of non-sterile (moist and dry) warm or cold compresses.
• Assist in preparing the resident for a physical examination.
• Weigh and measure residents, as instructed.
• Measure and record temperatures, pulse, and respirations (TPRs), as instructed.
• Answer resident calls as promptly as feasible.
• Ensure that residents who are unable to call for help are checked frequently.
• Check each resident routinely to ensure that his or her personal care needs are being met in accordance with his/her wishes.
• Assist with the care of the dying resident.
• Provide post-mortem care, as instructed.
• Assist new employee in following established Facility policies and procedures.

Special Nursing Care Functions

• Observe and report to Supervisor the presence of pressure areas and skin breakdowns to prevent decubitus ulcers (bedsores).
• Report to Supervisor injuries of an unknown source, including skin tears.
• Provide daily indwelling catheter care.
• Provide daily perineal care.
• Perform nonsterile (clean) vaginal irrigation or douches.
• Assist with the application of slings, elastic bandages, binders, etc.
• Give tepid sponge baths.
• Provide daily Range of Motion Exercises. Record to Supervisor data, as instructed.
• Turn bedfast residents at least every two (2) hours.
• Perform diabetic urine testing, as instructed.
• Provide physical and respiratory therapy, as instructed.
• Perform special treatments, as instructed.
• Observe disoriented and comatose residents. Record and report to Supervisor data, as instructed.
• Turn all medications found in the resident’s room or possession over to the Nurse Supervisor, LPN, or RN.
• Provide residents with Reality Orientation, as instructed.
• Watch for and report to Supervisor any change in room temperature, ventilation, lighting, etc.

Food Service Functions

• Prepare residents for meals (i.e., take to bathroom, wash hands, comb hair, raise bed, position tables, place bibs, take to/from dining room, etc.).
• Serve food trays. Assist with feeding as indicated (i.e., cutting foods, feeding, assist in dining room supervision, etc.).
• Assist residents with identifying food arrangements (i.e., informing resident with sight problem of foods that are on his/her tray, where it is located, if it is hot or cold, etc.).
• Record the resident’s food and fluid intake. Report to Supervisor changes in the resident’s eating habits.
• Keep residents’ water pitchers clean and filled with fresh water (on each shift), and within easy reach of the resident.
• Serve requested food between meal and bedtime snacks.
• Perform after meal care (i.e., remove trays, clean resident’s hands, face, clothing, take to bathroom, brush teeth, clean dentures, etc.).
• Check rooms for food articles (i.e., food in proper container, unauthorized food items, etc.).

Staff Development

• Attend and participate in scheduled training and educational classes to maintain current certification as a Nursing Assistant.
• Attend and participate in scheduled orientation programs and activities.
• Attend and participate in Facility in-service training programs, as instructed.

Safety and Sanitation

• Participate in appropriate in-service training programs prior to performing tasks that involve potential exposure to blood and body fluids.
• Wash hands before and after performing any service for the resident.
• Keep the nurses’ call system within easy reach of the resident.
• Immediately notify the Nurse Supervisor, LPN, or RN of any resident leaving or missing from the Facility.
• Follow established safety precautions in the performance of all duties.
• Keep residents’ personal possessions off the floor and properly stored per OSHA standards.
• Keep floors dry. Report spills immediately.
• Keep excess supplies and equipment off the floor. Store all equipment and supplies in designated areas.
• Wash wheelchairs, walkers, etc., as instructed.
• Clean, disinfect, and return all resident care equipment to its designated storage area after each use.
• Perform routine housekeeping duties (i.e., clean bedrails, overbed table, night stand, etc., that relate to nursing care procedures).
• Before leaving work area for breaks, or at the end of the workday, store all tools, equipment, and supplies.
• Report all hazardous conditions and equipment to any member of management or nursing supervisor immediately.
• Report any communicable or infectious disease to the any member of management, nursing supervisor, and/or to the Infection Control Coordinator.
• Follow established isolation precautions and procedures.
• Wash hands before entering and after leaving an isolation room and area.
• Follow established procedures in the use and disposal of personal protective equipment.
• Wear and or use safety equipment and supplies when lifting or moving residents.
• Report missing/illegible labels and MSDSs to your supervisor.

Equipment and Supply Functions

• Use only the equipment you have been trained to use.
• Use only the equipment and supplies necessary to do the job. Do not be wasteful.
• Report defective equipment to any member of management or nursing supervisor.

Care Plan and Assessment Functions

• Review care plans daily to determine if changes in the resident’s daily care routine have been made on the care plan.
• Inform the Nurse Supervisor, LPN, or RN of any changes in the resident’s condition so that appropriate information can be entered on the resident’s care plan.
• Ensure that your notes reflect that the care plan is being followed.

Resident Rights

• Report all grievances and complaints made by the resident to any member of management or nursing supervisor.
• Report all allegations of resident abuse and/or misappropriation of resident property to any member of management or nursing supervisor and according to Facility policy.
• Honor the resident’s refusal of treatment request. Report such requests to your Supervisor.
• Must adhere to all HIPAA requirements.

Working Conditions

• Works throughout the nursing service area (i.e., drug rooms, nurses’ stations, resident rooms, etc.).
• Is involved with physicians, residents, personnel, visitors, government agencies or personnel, etc., under all conditions and circumstances.
• Works beyond normal working hours, on weekends and holidays, and in other positions temporarily, when necessary.
• Is subject to call back during emergency conditions (e.g., severe weather, evacuation, post-disaster, etc.).
• Attends and participates in continuing educational programs.

Education

Must possess a high school diploma or equivalent.

Experience

Must be a licensed in accordance with laws of this state.

Specific Requirements

• Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language.
• Must possess a current, unencumbered license to practice as a Certified Nursing Assistant/Geriatric Nursing Assistant in this state. Provide the Facility a copy of such license at time of hire and whenever it is updated.
• Must be knowledgeable of nursing and medical practices and procedures and laws, regulations and guidelines governing long-term care.
• Must demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care appropriate to the age-related needs of the residents served.
• Must possess the ability to make independent decisions when circumstances warrant such action.
• Must possess the ability to deal tactfully with personnel, residents, family members, visitors, government agencies or personnel, and the general public.
• Must be willing to seek out new methods and principles and be willing to incorporate them into existing nursing practices.
• Must be able to relate information concerning a resident’s condition.

Physical and Sensory Requirements

(With or Without a Reasonable Accommodation)

• Must be able to move intermittently throughout the workday.
• Must be able to see and hear or use prosthetics that will enable these senses to function adequately to ensure that the requirements of this position can be fully met.
• Must meet the general health requirements set forth by the policies of the Facility, which may include a medical and physical examination.
• Based on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Guidelines for Nursing Homes Ergonomics for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders and the American Conference Governmental Industrial Hygienists' Threshold Limit Values for Lifting the Facility has identified that this job may require the lifting of residents, equipment, or other objects. Accordingly, this job may require a minimum of 5 pounds and a maximum of 50 pounds unassisted lifting, periodically and or as needed. Further, this job can require 100 pounds lifting with assistance over short distances.