CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY OLD FOLKS You change all th e i r sh e e ts—u su a lly when th ey get a shower. You have to re s t ra in a lo t of people in th e i r c h a ir s—you know , tie ’em in th e i r ch a irs . WC Tie th em in th e ch a ir? Why? Joe Well, because—sometim es doc tors give o rd e rs so th ey won ’t h u r t them se lves—w a lk a ro u n d and h u r t them selves. I alw ays h a ted doing th a t . This one guy he was rea l f r iend ly—a rea l k in d pe rson . When you tied h im in a ch a ir , boy, all th a t friend ly smile tu rn e d in to d is tress . I u su a lly took it off and j u s t let h im roam th e ha lls . WC What was th e r e s t ra in t like? Was it a s t r a p o r a belt-like th ing ? Joe I t was ju s t a c lo th th in g th a t you s tick h is a rm s th ro u g h—and you tie beh ind h is cha ir . Sometimes th ey go u n d e rn e a th h is c ro tch too. Some gu y s ’d be rea l good abou t ge tting ou t of them . W ithin a ha lf h o u r th e i r a rm s would be way back beh ind them , a ll con to rted , try in g to u n t ie th ese th ings! (He ges tu res .) This one guy—he died a while ago. He had a s trok e o r som e th ing and he c ou ldn ’t ta lk . He had a rea l big r e s t ra in t , a rea l elabo ra te one, w ith th re e d iffe ren t kn o ts tied to th e cha ir . H e ’d be s i t t in ’ on th e commode, and h is leg’d be tied to th e ch a ir , and th e r e ’d be sh i t on h is h and s . But he ju s t had t h a t need to tak e ca re of himself! Bed Sores Joe sa id a bed -ridden p a tien t m u s t be moved every 24 h ou rs , o r he will get decub itu s u lce rs . “Real sk in n y guys, if th e y ’re rea l bony , can get th em w he re a bone s tick s ou t. Like on th e fee t .” Bed so res a re caused by lack of oxygen, o r c ircu la tion , to th e sk in . Care WC You like people? You’ve alw ays wo rked w ith people. Why? Joe I h a v e n ’t had m uch of an a lte rna tive . I w ou ldn ’t w an t to w o rk in a fac tory . WC You rea lly h av e n ’t m inded w o rk ing in an old fo lks home, have you? Joe I neve r liked it rea l ly—excep t for th e f ir s t week when I was w o rk ing w ith an o th e r girl. We wo rked toge the r, and we d id n ’t have so m uch to do. BUT YOU CAN’T TAKE CARE OF NINE PEOPLE IN THAT SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME! WC There shou ld be m ore s ta ffing—m ore like one to fou r p a tien ts , o r one to five. Joe Yeah. The s ta ffing was no good! Fo r th a t k in d of money (wages) you ju s t c a n ’t get good staff. The re ’s th is one old b lack lady th a t wo rked th e re . She used to be like a maid. But now s h e ’s wo rk ing th e re . She’s rea l budd ies w ith th e n u r s e s and h e r sup e r io rs . SHE REALLY INTIMIDATES GUYS. Like she te lls ’em sh e ’s gonna th row ’em ou t th e window and s tu ff. She h a s big wh ite tee th sh in ing ou t of h e r face—and she laugh s a t ’em. I t ’s supposed to b e—If you rea lly felt like h e r friend , y o u ’d th in k th a t was funny . But tho se guys don.’t feel th a t fr iend sh ip fo r he r. WC They’re frigh tened of he r? Joe One tim e I walked in to th is room , and th e re was th is old I ta l ia n lad y—a n d sh e ’s no t rea l nice to he r, e ithe r. Then t h e r e ’s th is old rea l senile lady who doe sn ’t say 'any th ing . She was s itting in th e b a th room on th e to ile t—w ith th e door open and I walked in th e r e—th e black lady was p in c h in ’ h e r nose and s tu ff and p u l l in ’ on h e r face. I ju s t wa lked back out. I rea lly d id n ’t w an t to con fron t h e r. The S taff Joe to ld me th e m anagem en t h ire s anyone despera te for a job. Most of h is fellow w o rk e rs were Indoch inese and Cuban refugees and teenage women, who were poorly t ra in e d and ill-equipped to ta k e care of pa tien ts . WC You felt t h a t you were one of th e m ore compe ten t w o rke rs , because you were s trong enough to hand le th e p a tien ts and you had some em pa thy? Joe P a r tly I qu i t because th e re was too m uch of a s t ra in on my back . Like th is one guy—you d id n ’t u se a lift on him . He w a sn ’t m uch help , e ith e r . You had to pu ll h im up , s tra ig h te n h im up in bed, and t u r n h is feet out. I was shocked a t th e way some w o rk e rs moved th ese people a round! Moved th em by th e back of th e i r h ead s—(His voice rises .) in the most uncom fo r tab le ways! I alw ays tr ie d to p u t my h a n d back u n d e r th e i r shou ld e r blades. They tre a te d ’em like dead meat. One of the rea son s I d id n ’t like w o rk ing th e r e—I d id n ’t get any su p p o r t from th e re s t of the staff. WC Do you th in k th e refugees were incapab le of w o rk ing th e re because th ey cou ldn ’t comm un ica te—and w e ren ’t tra in ed ? Joe I w ou ldn ’t h i re ’em! You got to be able to speak to people. You have to be able to communicate. If you h ire someone who c a n ’t comm un ica te w ith yo u r pa tien ts , you shou ld be p re t ty asham ed of you rse lf. Then to say you rea lly care abou t th e p a t ie n ts ’ we lfa re—i t ’s rid icu lou s . Showers Joe They s it in these c h a ir s—a ll th e m en and women. They’re like a commode w ith wheels, you can have a bowel movement in th e re , if you need to. I s ta n d beh ind th is wall of tiles , i t ’s on ly abou t so h igh (He g es tu res)—so my p a n ts w on ’t get wet. You t u r n on th e shower, a d ju s t the tem p e ra tu re , and y o u ’re supposed to w a tch th e pa tien ts . WC How long shou ld th ey be in th e show e r? Joe I t ’s no t a m a t te r of how long—i t ’s how m uch you get done! You have to shampoo th e i r h a i r and w ash th e i r s k in—and th e m ost im p o r ta n t th in k , I th in k , is to rea lly d ry ’em! Because th ey can get fungu s grow ing between th e i r toes and s tu ff. WC Oh, you have to d ry them , too! Their gen ita ls and eve ry th ing? Joe You have to ra ise th e i r b re a s ts u p—and you w ash between th e i r legs— DINNER ICKBKKET IHEATRE The Pub Theatre show calendar Mar. 20-April 18 Everyth ing In th e Garden April 23 -June 13 Cabaret Wednesdays- Pub Theatre Variety Show 8 :00 p .m . CALL FOR INFORMATION & RESERVATIONS 224-1431 Dinner before the show upstairs at The Gathering Place 1900 N.W. 27 th (& Upshur) You're invited to one of them. Belinda's Dining from 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday Chef/Proprietor —Ross Pullen 8324 SE 17th Old Sellwood 232-6606 10 min. from downtown via Sellwood Bridge 31
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