Re: what to do

[Holly Sox, RN, RAC-C]

We had a married couple like this, and every couple of weeks staff would just take them, screaming and grumbling, to the shower. They never actually fought, just complained and grouched the whole time.   You have to really walk a fine line between their right to refuse care vs the rights of others, especially if there is a roommate.   Try bribery.  Is there something he really likes to eat?  At my former facility, one of the staff would play cards with one of the "stinkies" to reward him for bathing. Find out something he really likes, and trade.  You can also try a contract or something like that, where he gets points or a star or whatever each time he takes a bath without fighting; then there is a reward (his choosing) for gaining a certain number of points.   Sometimes nothing works.  This may sound really stupid, but have y'all told him he smells bad?  That actually works sometimes.   My last suggestion is something we used for a lady who would insist that she just had a bath and did not need one again, no matter how long it had been. She was still able to understand and use a calendar.  I asked her how often she thought she needed to bathe, and she said twice a week was plenty.  So we decided on Tuesday and Friday for her baths.  I took a large calendar, and marked her bath days.  On the days that she took a bath, she would write in an X on the calendar. When it was time for bath, they showed her the calendar, and she would agree that it had been 3-4 days since her last bath, and was time for another one.  This worked for a couple of months, and her family actually adapted the idea to record their visits, so that she would quit accusing them of never, ever, ever coming to see her. When she saw it in her handwriting, she would usually admit they had been there.   Hope something here helps.  I feel your pain.   Holly     Holly F. Sox, RN, RAC-C  Clinical Editor, Careplans.com www.careplans.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 7:55 PM Subject: what to do Does anyone have any suggestions in how to get a resident to take a shower, bath or just plain wash up. I have a resident who is totally against anytype of bathing . He becomes very belligerent toward staff. Psych, consult is ordered. He has no family , only guardianship with family services. thanks nancy