Emem Unwana Gently And Patiently Feeds Her Aged And Sick Patient Inside This
Nursing And Assisted Living Home In Southern United States. Her
Patient Is 91 Years
Old. She Is Incontinent And In The Last Stages Of Living. Her Family
Brought Her To
The Nursing Home Five Years Ago. The Family Could No Longer Give Their
Mother The
Care And Support She Deserves, The Remainder Of Her Life. She Also Has
Alzheimer's
Disease.
When She Was Brought To The Nursing Home Five Years Ago, Emem In A Far Away
Small Town In Nigeria Was In Her Last Months Of The National Youth
Service. The Two
Were Seven Thousand Miles Apart, Not Knowing How Their Paths Would Cross.
"i Graduated From The University Of Nigeria, Nsukka With Honors In
Chemistry. After
My National Youth Service, Securing Employment Became A Huge Challenge. I Moved
Back Home To Calabar. There Was No Job And No Hope For A Fresh Graduate. Friends
Helped Me To Seek Life In America. Jebose, Here I Am Today As A Certified Nurses
Aid Worker. I Never Dreamt Of This, Coming To America. But When Life Happens To
You, You Learn To Adjust Fast And Move Forward. At Least, That's What
I Have Learnt
Here".
"a Cna Is A Health Care Professional Who Provides Health Care Services
To Patients
And Facility Residents. They Are Also Called Nursing Aides Or
Orderlies. Cna Provides
Basic Health Care Services To Clients. Job Responsibilities Vary Based
On Where You
Work And Live. Cnas Often Work In A Wide Variety Of Settings Like Nursing Homes,
Hospitals, Adult Day Care Centres, Personal Homes And Assisted Living
Facilities.
They Act As Helpful Liaison Between The Rn Or Lpn And The Patient. In
Many Cases,
Cnas Serve As The Rn's Or Lpn's Eyes And Ears, And Relays Information Between
Many Patients And Nurses. This Is One Of The Easiest Health Care
Professions, With
Least Training And Requirement That Are Available To Immigrants In America,
Especially, Female Immigrants.
Few Months After Emem Came To The United States, She Paid $300 To Be Certified
As A Can. Certification Included A Three-week Training Or Classes,
Organised By A
State Licensed Or Accredited Health Institution. After The Three Weeks
Course, The
Student Then Takes A County, City Or State Certified Examination In
Practical And
Theory. An Applicant Is Expected To Make Over 80 Per Cent Score In Order To Be
Certified. He/She, After Certification, Can Work In Any Hospital Or
Nursing Home Or
Assisted Living Home.
Emem, Who Chose To Give One Name Only, Continued Thus:"back Home, People Think
You Just Come To America And Get This Job. You Go Through Training And
Certifications To Be Able To Work In Such Public Health And
Care-giving Environment.
There Are Myths And Lies Through The Years That Most Nigerians Doing This Job In
The Western World Are Washing Dead Bodies In America Or Europe. It's Ignorance."
Emem's Patient, Through Her Family, Instructed The Nursing Home That She Didn't
Want To Be Resuscitated In Case Of Heart Attack Or Seizure At 91.
"one Of The Silliest Conversations Trending In Nigeria's Social Media Is That
Nigerians Wash Dead Bodies To Survive In Europe And America. Nigerians At Home
Even Say 'tufiakwa' To The 'disgusting' Job Of Washing Dead Bodies Overseas. But
Are Dead Bodies Bathed Or Washed In These Continents By Immigrant Workers,
Especially Nigerians? We Lack Information And As Such, Allow Rumours, Innuendos,
Silly And Sensational Myths To Becloud Our Minds. It Is Absolutely Difficult For
Anyone To Earn Income From Washing Dead Bodies In America Or Any Western
Nation. In The United States, When Someone Dies, Either Violently Or
Naturally, The
First Responders Are Emergency Medical Services Alongside The Medical Examiner's
Office. The Body Is Then Moved To The Mortuary. The Responders Are
Professionals.
Most Of These Med Teams Earn Good Money. Medical Examiners Earn Between
$35,000 And $75,000 Per Year. Fresh Dead Bodies Are Usually Deposited In County
Hospitals Or In The Mortuary Of The Hospital Where The Patient Died. In Homicide
Cases, Dead Bodies Are Transported To The County Hospital Morgue Where The
Coroner Performs Autopsy To Determine Cause Of Death. Then The Body Would Be
Released To The Family Of The Deceased Through A Funeral Home Of Their Choice.
Funeral Homes Are Operated By Certified Morticians And Mortuary Directors. The
Funeral Home Would Contact The Hospital To Inform It That The Family Of The
Deceased Had Requested It To Pick The Body To Its Funeral Home Where
The Deceased
Would Be Prepared For Dignified Burial," He Explained.
Mr. Carlton Grey Is The Director Of Carlton Funeral Homes And
Cremation Services In
Raleigh, North Carolina. He Shares His Experience In This Regards Thus: "in The
United States, Caring For Deceased Bodies Is A Profession. Those In
This Noble Field
Are Referred To As Morticians, Embalmers, Funeral Directors,
Undertakers. Yes, You
Must Be Licenced By The State In Which You Apply, To Work And Carry Out These
Functions. Every State Has Its Own Requirements And Rules In Place.
The Salaries Are
Like Most Jobs; Depending On The Area And Cost Of Living. The Earnings Could Be
Between $35,000 And $75,000, Depending On Experience.
"part Of The Requirements Include Graduate From An Accredited School Of Mortuary
Science And Passing A State Board Exam In The State In Which You Wished To
Practise. You Will Also Be Required To Do An Internship, Usually
Ranging From One
Year To Two Years In A Funeral Home. It Is Unusual For Anyone To Wash
Dead Bodies
In The United States Because Of Regulations. Embalmers And Their Assistants
Perform These Tasks Of Bathing A Dead Body. Public Health Is A Very
Serious Concern
Here. Once A Person Is Dead At Home, The Family Calls 911: The First
Responders To
The Scene Of Death Are Usually The Police, Emergency Medical Service And Medical
Examiner Who Would Record Necessary Preliminary Information With Regards To The
Deceased. The Process Doesn't Give Room For Anyone To Get Hired As A Dead Body
Washer. There Is No Such, Not To My Knowledge."
Midnight Monday, Emem's Patient, The 91-year-old Woman Died. Emem Who
Worked The Night Shift, Went To Check On Her At Midnight, To Clean, Change Her
Diapers And Make Sure She Was Covered As She Slept.
"when I Got There, She Wasn't Breathing. I Checked Her Pulse. She Was Asleep So
Peacefully And Beautifully. I Followed Procedures And Called The Hospice Home. I
Also Checked Her File To See Whom To Contact When She Died. I Called
Her Daughter.
The Hospice Care Staff Arrived Within Fifteen Minutes To Confirm Her Death. She
Called The Emergency And They Came And Took Her To The Hospital
Morgue. It Is Sad.
You Get Attached To These Old People As A Care Giver. It Can Be Really
Emotional.
You Cared For A Person Almost Ten Hours Each Day And For Five Days. You Can
Definitely Get Attached To That Person. I Did. I Didn't Wash Her Body
Or Bathe Her.
She Was Removed By Ems To The Hospital Morgue. Life Goes On, Mr. Jebose."
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