Lori Porter told residents and staff members at Fountain View Manor nursing home Tuesday CNAs were the lifelines for those people.
She was speaking during a stop by the National Association of Health Case Assistants (NAHCA). The stop was part of a statewide tour by the Joplin, Missouri-based organization. The you was designed to raise the awareness of the importance of CNAs and nursing homes.
Porter told the group Oklahoma has the second largest membership in the organization with some 5,000 members. Nationally there are 40,000 CNAs who are members.
"We want to build up the self-esteem and confidence in our members. They don't get enough recognition because they do the jobs other people can't and won't do.“Being a CNA is very difficult, both physically and emotionally. We want to use this opportunity to recognize their important work, as well as bring a spotlight to the profession, highlighting the rewards of caregiving so that others will consider the CNA career path.”
Porter said the nursing home industry is the most regulated industry in America. "The second most regulated is nuclear power."
She pointed out over 90 percent of bedside care is performed by Certified Nursing Assistants. That is an issue that she said is expected to grow in importance through 2022 with aging baby boomers as well as growing rates of Chronic conditions and dementia.
NAHCA was created in 1995 to provide much needed recognition and ongoing education to the CNA profession, as well as a platform to recruit individuals to the CNA role.
