There are many exciting opportunities at the Iowa Veterans Home to expand staff nursing knowledge. There are a variety of services that we provide to our residents and offer special training to our staff.
The Iowa Veterans Home offers an interdisciplinary care planning process for residents and their families. The ultimate goal of the interdisciplinary resident care conference (IRCC) team is to achieve and maintain the resident’s optimal physical, psychosocial, and functional status while minimizing dependency. Upon admission, the social worker discusses the interdisciplinary care planning process with the resident and/or family. The interdisciplinary team consists of:
- Primary Care Provider
- Registered Nurse
- Social Worker
- Dietician
- Recreation Therapist
Other professionals such as clergy, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and drug/alcohol abuse counselors may contribute to the care-planning process.
The care planning team, based on assessment of the resident’s individual needs, will develop an interdisciplinary plan of care. The care plan is initiated during the resident’s admission and is continuously refined throughout the resident’s stay. It is the right and responsibility of the resident and/or family to participate in the care planning process. The care plan addresses:
- Anything that adversely effects the resident’s health, comfort, and/or environment
- Anything that causes the resident concern
- Anything that requires attention to diagnostic (needs more study), therapeutic (needs treatment), or educational (needs teaching) nature of the resident’s need
Appropriateness of the plan of care and progress on identified goals and approaches is reviewed at least quarterly and upon a significant change in the resident’s condition.
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Providing quality, compassionate end-of-life care at the Iowa Veterans Home has long been a priority. An internal interdisciplinary Palliative & Hospice Care Committee strives to provide education to unit teams. Unit teams promote excellence in care giving and support to meet the unique physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of residents and their families who face distressing symptoms and/or life-threatening illnesses. Emphasis is placed on pain and symptom relief and on implementing measures that will enhance the resident’s quality of life.
Some of the services provided to our residents and their families include:
- Educational Materials that help families understand the resources available as well as information to assist them in understanding the changing nutritional and emotional needs at the end of life and what to expect in the dying process.
- One-to-One Care is the service of providing a continual caring presence in the last phases of life, promoting dignified care that focuses individual attention on meeting the resident’s physical, emotional, and comfort care needs.
- Complimentary Housing and Meals are provided to families in attendance with residents receiving one-to-one care.
- Comfort Haven, a comfortable room designated for families and friends that provides a quiet home-like atmosphere with many comforts, including a microwave, coffee pot, TV/VCR, kid’s toys, etc.
- Spiritual Support – IVH Chaplains are attentive to the spiritual needs of our residents and their families, providing support, bereavement services, and memorial services when desired.
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The Iowa Veterans Home offers the services of a Certified Rehabilitation Nurse Specialist. The nurse works collaboratively with the resident and interdisciplinary team to provide a holistic and restorative assessment of complex medical issues and nursing care that enhances the resident’s psychological adaptation, increases levels of performance in daily living activities, and prevents complications associated with inactivity.
Restorative skills assessment may include, but is not limited to:
- Range of Motion Exercises
- Ambulation and Transfers
- Splint and Brace Application
- Toileting Programming
- Fall Risk Assessment and Prevention
- Feeding
- Communication
- Dressing
Resident and staff restorative specific education and goal setting is provided. A restorative plan of care reflects the resident’s goals and desired outcomes and is formulated and implemented in order to improve or maintain optimal wellness and functional potential of each IVH resident.
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The Iowa Veterans Home offers the services of wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) Nurse Specialist. This nurse is a highly trained professional, expert in care of individuals with skin ulcers, ostomy, and continence problems. A WOC nurse manages a variety of conditions such as stomas, draining fistulas, vascular ulcers, pressure ulcers, neuropathic ulcers, minor burns, urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and functional disorders of the bowel and bladder. The WOC nurse improves the quality and standard of care through services that are above and beyond what a staff nurse may provide. This is achieved by performing advanced assessment, evaluation, prevention, consultation, treatement, and education.
The WOC nurse at IVH assists the primary health care team by providing advanced on-site nursing care in order to:
- Decrease the incidence of pressure ulcers
- Improve the rates of pressure ulcer healing
- Reduce pressure ulcer complications
- Prevent risks
- Identify and treat vascular and diabetic ulcers
- Reduce incidences of urinary or fecal incontinence
- Increase resident’s comfort and quality of life
(Coming Soon)
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The Iowa Veterans Home currently offers the services of a Certified Diabetes Nurse Educator. Diabetes education, also known as diabetes self-management training (DSMT) or diabetes self-management education (DSME), is a two-way process through which people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge and skills needed to adjust behavior and effectively self-manage their diabetes and its associated conditions.
DSMT/DSME is a cooperative, continuous process involving the person with diabetes (or the caregiver or family) and a diabetes educator(s). The intervention intends to attain optimal health status, improved quality of life and decrease the need for costly health care.
Diabetes education focuses on seven self-care behaviors that are essential for better health status and improved quality of life.
These include
- Healthy eating
- Being active
- Monitoring
- Taking medication
- Problem solving
- Healthy coping
- Reducing risks
Diabetes education is most often provided by diabetes educators. Diabetes educators give people with diabetes the knowledge, skills and tools they need to productively deal with their diabetes and avoid many of the complications associated with diabetes.
Iowa Healthy Links include a practical, interactive curriculum of exercise, nutrition, medication usage, stress management, talking with your doctor or health clinician, advance directives, wills and dealing with emotions and depression. There are opportunities for discussion and problem solving in a mutually supportive setting.
The workshops help participants regain control of their lives to do the things that matter, help them feel better and connect with others. These workshops were developed in the early 1990’s by Stanford University Center for Research in Patient Education. This is a credible, “evidence-based” program with broad experience and demonstrated results in many different settings, populations and chronic conditions, now used in 15 countries and over 39 U.S. states.
Individuals aged 50 or older with long-term health conditions such as: arthritis, diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, chronic pain, anxiety, depression and others may benefit from the workshops. Those who feel limited in day to day activities, feel frustrated, tired, alone or fearful or are looking for better ways to manage disease symptoms may improve their lives through this workshop.
The workshop is offered quarterly. If you are interested in participating or have questions, please call Debbie Rubenbauer at 641-753-4208. These workshops are open to everyone including: residents, family, staff and community residents.
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- Loftus 1 & Sheeler 3 are secure dementia units for veterans requiring unique structuring in a secure environment. Loftus 1 consists of 37 beds and Sheeler 3 of 41 beds. Special environmental features include reduction of overhead PA systems, a secured outdoor area, specially trained staff, and activities geared to individual needs and abilities. Staff receives an additional 6 hours of training annually to meet CCDI requirements.
- There is constant pursuit of information, consulting with colleagues, and evaluating current care approaches to make recommendations for, or initiate changes on these units to provide ongoing care. Implementation of a new assessment tool is currently in process to more accurately determine staging of dementia and assist in unit placement. A monthly support group is available for friends and family to attend which also provides education on dementia.
- We currently offer an innovative program for Alzheimer and dementia patients called TimeSlips. Please visit our TimeSlips to learn more about this creative new program.
Visit Time Slips Program
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