Why not! We do it already! Have nurse aides trained in dietary, laundry, and housekeeping!! If we are short staffed, anyone can join in to take care of these residents, that pay so much for so little care!! So if you are cleaning a room, and a resident wants to go to the bathroom, you say, "Sure, I can help you, instead of, you will have to wait 2 hours until the overworked aide gets to you; but by then you will have wet yourself, be labeled incontinent, and have to stay here longer until you can help yourself; but we won't let you, because we have put an alarm on you, which lets EVERYBODY know you can't help yourself, or that we are just afraid you might fall on the floor, hurt yourself, or worse than that- Nurses must do paperwork, and it looks bad on a State Survey!! Sad to say, but true - our facility believes that it is better to make a person helpless, to have no say in their care, to be humiliated, than to accept a few falls. I know state regulations have alot to do with it, but you just cannot stop a person from being who they are, unless they are in the hospital, drugged and restrained!! I am diverting, sorry! But I think one workforce, all being caregivers, cooks, cleaners could really benefit nursing homes!! It is just like being a family, we all do those tasks, not just one or the other, but everything! I think the staff would get along better. It would be easier for payroll and scheduling, one staff, delegate their duties, and rotate them on a weekly basis!! I think it could be!!