It has been a very busy past two weeks. I find myself getting close to the end of this assignment, which is always bittersweet. I have extended here twice. What started out as an 8 week assignment has turned into over 3 months so far. For the first time since I have been in this facility, I have hope that things are going to line out. Let me clarify, this is a wonderful facility full of wonderful people. However, the chaotic environment (that was present when I got here and has continued to some extent) required an energy level from staff and leadership that was not sustainable. The chaos was mainly attributed to the reactive environment that had been created. As humans, we are equipped to be reactive in situations, but it requires a large amount of energy and reserve. We can better sustain in a proactive state. I am so fortunate to have a supportive administrator and CEO here. They were open to new ideas and recommendations. The new schedules and processes that have been implemented are being carried out and I can see a positive impact on the staff and patient care.
Wookie continues to go to work with me everyday. This facility was utilizing a large number of agency staff until recently, so he had not built strong connections with them. The patient stays are shorter here, so he was not able to build strong connections with them, either. He spent much of his time under my desk or following me around. Now that we have consistent employees for the facility, he has started to connect and looks forward to greeting them every morning. He continues to spread hope and joy wherever he goes. This facility is dog friendly, so he also provides an open door for conversation with patients and families. They are overjoyed to find out that they can bring their own pets for visits. Nothing gives more hope than the ability to see their “babies”, and Wookie is always excited to meet a new friend. He absolutely loves when other dogs visit. There are two therapy dogs that come weekly (Roscoe and Thornton). They always make their first stop at my office to greet Wookie.
I continue to empty 6-9 gallons/day of water out of my de-humidifier every day, but at least it cycles on some days. While my husband visited, he found the noise of the machine annoying, so we shut it off. By the time he left, the humidity was up to 83%, and it hasn’t cycled since. I put in on turbo setting occasionally and have faith that it will normalize again.
My husband sent me the most tender video clip via tiktok this morning. I don’t do tiktok and I don’t know if it is okay to share the link, but here it is https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRgWP4uX/ (someone please let me know if this is not allowed). Be ready (put your waders on) , it’s deep, atleast it was to me.
I don’t have an exact plan for my next assignment, but I have something in the works 😉
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