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Saturday, September 13, 2003Cameron was among the 10 staff members who volunteered to participate in the study by praying two or three times a day for 15 long-term residents. The residents selected for prayer did not know they were being prayed for, and the staff members didn't know their identities. Each staff member was instructed to pray for two residents -- identified by a letter in the alphabet -- in five specific areas: mood/behavior, pain, infection, falls and weight. Richison, the only staff person who knows the names of the residents, prayed for each resident by name and by needs two or three times each day. Although the project ended Aug. 31, staff members still find themselves praying for their assigned letters. ``I'll be praying for `I' and `J' forever. It will never really end,'' said Darlene Seaver, director of activities at Traditions. ``I'll just keep praying and believing the prayers are working.'' A preliminary look at the data related to falls indicates that the group being prayed for had fewer falls, and that when falls did occur, they resulted in less injury. Complete results from the study are expected to be compiled within two months. The results haven't been published yet, but even if you don't believe in the power of prayer, there's a good possibility that the approach helped improve the care of the residents. Even though the participants didn't know the names of the people for whom they were praying, the prayer meetings did help focus their attention on their patients and brought the staff members some inner peace as well: Staff members are confident the results will show prayer works and affects the well-being of long-term-care residents. They are already reporting a positive impact on their personal spiritual lives. ``I've been more peaceful and happy,'' said Laurie Winkleman, nurse case manager. ``It strengthened my prayer life and just gave me a sense of peace.'' Staff members also said weekly meetings that brought them together for prayer served to bring them closer together. Happy workers are better workers, and there's a good chance that the time spent thinking about the well-being of their elderly charges made them more conscientious about their care. posted by Sydney on 9/13/2003 09:44:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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