Amazing place. Read on.
So who am I? I am Christopher Lozinski, Matthew Lozinski's younger brother. Matthew is the first patient at the Banner Home. They now have another patient. For 3.5 years I have hung out at his bedside trying to get him up and walking.
Banner home is how the industry should be run. It is a small place, with very few patients. They are now up to two patients. Small places are great, they have much less risk of contagious diseases. The house looks gorgeous. Unlike other nursing homes, it does not smell. The staff is happy and the patients are way better treated than in the large warehouses. Believe me, I know. They have family photos of ours on the mantle piece. They have a personal relationship with Matthew and really care for him. This is how the whole industry should be.
But those are just the details. The important stuff is the big picture stuff. What are their ideas about how to treat Matthew, and how does that get reflected in the reality of his day to day life. I may be extreme, but I believe better to be dead than stuck in a nursing home. So what does it take to get him to walk? And I may be wrong, but I believe that once he starts walking, all kinds of things will just fix themselves. Does Banner home pay attention to this question?
My experience in the big nursing homes, is that they just go about their jobs without keeping their minds on the big picture. There is so much that needs to be done for Matthew every day that it is really easy to forget about the larger objectives, and just focus on the minutia of every day life. A lot of the big facilities are called warehouses, because that is what they do, the the keep the person alive, but ignore the larger objectives.
Not so Banner home. Sure they have to feed, bathe, exercise Matthew. But they really keep the focus on walking in the long run. He has a problem with remembering to stand up. Do they ignore it, and deal with other things. No they prioritize it. What does it take to get him to remember to stand and not just fall down? We leave no stone unturned until we figure it out.
It is amazing how many nurses I have met who use Chinese Medicine for their own personal care, but not for their patients care. They have difficulty resolving the conflicts between Western and Eastern Medicine. When pressed on this issue they argue that Chinese Medicine is not for severe injuries. They do not realize how successfully Chinese Hospitals integrate the two approaches in cases far worse than Matthews. Does Peggy have this problem? Nope. She is happy to bring in her personal Chinese Doctor to visit Matthew. She takes the time to then integrate the conflicting advice she gets from the Chinese Doctors with the Western Physical Therapists, she figures out what to do, discusses it with the Family, and then proposes it to the Conservator for final decision making.
Right now we are dealing with the issue of an exercise bicycle. The western physical therapists say it is not needed. Common sense and the Chinese Doctors will probably say that any aerobic exercise is great for promoting healing. The motion helps the digestive system work, and encourages regularity, allowing digestive drugs to be reduced or eliminated. The improvement in circulation increases his personal energy, and makes it possible for him to initiate activities, and maybe even remember to stay standing. At least that is what I think the Chinese Doctor will say. We will see what they do indeed say, and watch how Peggy resolves the conflict between the two medical approaches.
Peggy is great at dealing with the family. So many nursing homes strictly follow the law. The conservator is the decision maker, and is the only one with access to information. That of course leaves families furious and bitterly divided, as indeed happened in our case. That is not how Peggy does business. She gets permission from the conservator to share information. She consults with the extended family. We may not always agree on decisions, but we reach consensus. We each understand the other person's point of view, and respect their judgment. Sure it takes a lot of time, but in the long run it is way more efficent than having broken families.
Peggy complains that she has no ability to control what is written on this web page. I beg to differ. I only write what I write based on her actions. She really has complete control over what I write here.
If you are one of the families living at the Banner Home, do send me an email to lozinski@specialtyjobmarkets.com, and let me know if you agree with my perspective. It is always good to stay in touch.
My apologies to the Gods of Google for invoking the magical incantations required to make this page show up on a Google Search before the real home page for Banner Home for Brain Injury Survivors. It was all for a good cause. Questions? Send me an email.