Certified Nursing Assistant

Basic Purpose

The basic purpose of the Certified Nursing Assistant is to provide personal care to residents; assist with activities and meals; perform any reasonable duties to provide comfort to residents and families in order to fulfill the mission of the community.

Major Duties & Responsibilities

I. Indirect Resident Care:

1.  Greets and directs visitors.
2.  Answers telephone calls.
3.  Assumes responsibility for the cleanliness and neatness of resident rooms (including armoires, closets, nightstands and dresser drawers), storage rooms, and kitchen.)
4.  Assists in maintaining an environment for the residents which is clean, orderly and attractive.
5.  Provides necessary equipment at the resident’s bedside to meet his/her individual needs 
6.  Refers visitors to the charge nurse for information regarding a resident’s condition.

II. Direct Resident Care and Essential Functions:

A. Assessment/Observation/Reporting

1. Notes any unusual physical or behavioral changes in the residents such as bruises, abrasions, rashes or reddened areas on the resident’s skin; or increased agitation, confusion, lethargy or other unusual behavior and reports these observations to the charge nurse in a timely manner.
2. Obtains vital signs (temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure) as requested by the charge nurse and reports/records as appropriate.
3. Measures intake and output accurately and records in the EMR.
4. Obtains accurate weights of residents as required. Notifies nurse if weight results are questionable.
5. Reports any changes or unusual observations of the resident’s mouth/oral cavity to the licensed nurse.

B. Personal Care

1. Assists with or performs personal hygiene for the resident, including washing the face, hands and all personal areas.
2. Assists with or performs proper grooming for the resident such as combing and styling hair and helping resident to choose clean, appealing, and coordinating clothes, if necessary.
3. Assists the resident with a shower or total bed bath as instructed by the licensed nurse per bathing schedule. Baths offered when resident returns from hospital stay even if not on scheduled day. Hospice Residents are bathed by Lambeth House staff on the days that hospice does not bathe them.
4. Shaves the male resident daily if he is unable to shave himself.
5. Assists the resident to wash his/her face and hands before and after meals when necessary.
6. Assists or performs oral care for residents including brushing the teeth or dentures, properly labeling and storing dentures, using mouthwash or special procedures as instructed by the licensed nurse.
7. Answers IPOD calls for all residents in an expeditious manner.

C. Lifting and Moving Residents

1. Assists designated residents to ambulate as instructed by the licensed nurse.
2. Transports residents by wheelchair or other means to locations within the Lambeth House community.
3. Assists residents to transfer from bed to chair, etc. using approved methods. One person lift transfers are not approved.
4. Repositions residents at least every two hours if resident cannot change position independently.
5. Repositions residents who are in bed at least every two hours.
6. Repositions residents who are up in the chair at least every two hours, e.g. assist to lie down or ambulate as instructed by the licensed nurse.
7. Assist residents to maintain proper body alignment.
8. Always performs lifting using approved methods with safety in mind to prevent injury to resident and/or self.

D. Nutrition

1. Matches the resident with the proper diet before serving the meal.
2. Assists the resident at each meal to ensure an adequate nutritional intake, e.g. set up the meal & cut food into small pieces if necessary.
3. Feeds the resident who is unable to feed him/herself.
4. Records/reports the percent of each meal consumed.
5. Reports to the charge nurse when poor appetite and/or fluid intake are noted.
6. Ensures that fresh water is always available for the resident, unless otherwise instructed; passes ice and water on each shift.
7. Always helps to create a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere at mealtime. Engages resident in conversation and does not chat with other staff during meal assistance.

E. Resident’s Environment

1. Changes bed linens at pre-determined intervals and/or when linens are soiled.
2. Disposes of soiled linens and clothes promptly and properly to reduce unwanted odors.
3. Knows and follows policies and procedures related to infection control.
4. Immediately disposes of the contents of bedpans, urinals and/or commodes.
5. Always keeps resident room neat and clean; keeps bedside stand neat and items properly stored inside.
6. Clearly marks and properly stores personal belongings.
7. Properly marks and promptly forwards clothes to be laundered when soiled; hangs clothes neatly in the resident’s closet. Does not dress resident in clothes that are torn, has missing buttons or needs repairs of any kind.
8. Always fastens the resident’s call light within reach of the resident.
9. Knows and can carry out approved emergency procedures.
10. Reports all unusual occurrences, breakage and damage to equipment immediately and removes broken items from area of use as necessary.

F. Bowel and Bladder

1. Assists residents to the toilet or commode per assignment and as requested. Toilets residents upon arising in AM, prior to and after meals, and at night.
2. Changes incontinent residents after every episode; performs adequate perineal hygiene for resident’s incapable of self-care.
3. Records/reports bowel and bladder function every shift.

G. Other

1. Assists in the proper orientation of new CNA staff as assigned.
2. Completes documentation using EMR in a timely manner.
3. Attends required in-service meetings.
4. Utilizes time management to complete tasks routinely.
5. May be required to perform other related duties for which the individual is qualified.

Minimum Qualifications

1. High school graduate or equivalent. Certification by the State of Louisiana to practice as a “Certified Nursing Assistant.”
2. An interest in working with older residents.
3. Good physical and mental health that allow the individual to perform required duties.
4. Must be competent in area of practice.
5. Willingness to work, having patience while working with residents who are ill, and the ability to work under close supervision.
6. Neat in appearance while adheres to dress code including hairstyle and length of fingernails.
7. Freedom from communicable disease.

Typical Physical Demands

1. Must be able to lift/push/pull 35 pounds without assistance.
2. Must be able to use lifting equipment correctly.
3. Must be able to use timeclock correctly.
4. Must be able to understand written communications.
5. Must be able to write legibly using appropriate spelling and punctuation.