A must-read insight from McKnight’s editor Liza Berger.  From the article: “If you really want to know who the resident is as a person, ask the housekeeper,” says Diana Waugh, long-term care consultant and national speaker on long-term care issues.”

Relevant to facility administrators, families, and those interested in the “on the ground” details inside of long-term care, Liza Berger’s piece is an excellent portrait of an often overlooked human interaction.

From the article:

Despite their role outside the realm of nursing care, they play a key role in the life of the facility, experts say. Beside providing the first defense in an emergency such as an infection control outbreak, they have an impact on the facility’s presentation.

 

“How do people decide about a nursing home?” Rackner asks. “[For] a lot of them it’s about how they smell. Housekeeping keeps the place smelling such that, Mom and Dad would be willing to go there.”

 

Unbeknownst to some, they also have a unique connection to the residents. They know intimate details of a resident that a direct caregiver does not have, experts say. 

Liza Berger may be reached at at liza.berger@mcknights.com.