Helen Hardy

Visit individuals in their homes a minimum of once a month; complete focused assessments and vital signs
Medication audits
Complete yearly MDS for individuals
Write careplans with physical, social and emotional goals
Work closely with case management and clinicians to support and advocate for individuals

Triage walk-in patients
Refill prescriptions
Administer psychotropic injections
Assist in suboxone clinic
Room patients for Psychiatrist
Administer narcan if necessary
Train patients on use of narcan

I wanted to make my RN-BSN capstone project meaningful to myself and the individuals I work with. After supporting four individuals and their families through end-of-life care in fairly quick succession in 2017, I identified a gap in knowledge regarding palliative and hospice care, understanding guardian and health care proxy roles, and how the MOLST form should be used appropriately for people supported by DDS. I felt that we were letting down our individuals without this knowledge and, after my literature research showed very little had been done with the DDS population and end-of-life care, I knew I had to take some action. As is my nature, I wanted to solve all of the problems immediately, but one of my professors encouraged me to take small steps that could be built on, so I decided to focus my efforts on education about palliative and hospice care, when to request these services, and helping people understand the various roles guardians and HCP's play at the end-of-life. Just with this small amount of information alone, supporting team members can assist individuals in receiving the right care at the right time, and understand what paperwork can be completed to protect them when they are no longer able to express their wishes.