Somehow, things need to change
You’d think that after two falls in the nursing home that they’d actually keep a closer eye on DH’s mother. Nope, she’s now had five falls. Three falls from her wheelchair and two from her bed. These people are supposed to be taking care of her and at a premium cost no less. Angry doesn’t begin to describe how we feel.
It sickens me that they can get away with this because we have nowhere else to turn. From what I’ve seen on the government ratings, this nursing home is rated three stars higher than the one in which my sister put our mother. This sickens me more.
There is no easy solution, we can’t take care of his mother here, the house is too small and DH has enough to deal with, with his MS. I am not a nurse or a doctor and I am not qualified to take on her care as well as his. Thus, she must be in a nursing home.
There should be more inspections and tighter regulations on nursing homes to raise the quality of care in ALL of them.
Posted on January 16, 2011, in Misc and tagged Author, Bones, books, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Long-term care, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Nursing home, Post A Day, Writer, Writing. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Doggonedmysteries 
I’m so sorry, this must be hugely frustrating for you. To see her there with inadequate care, and to feel so helpless would make me want to go and throw things at people.
Hugs xxx
Sorry to hear that 😦
the situation is as bad over here as well. This story has been making the rounds. It’s sickening.
Having worked in a nursing home as a CNA, I couldn’t agree more. The quality of care is sometimes deplorable. However, it is not necessarily the CNA’s fault. Those girls and sometimes guys are working a ward of approximately 15 to 24 residents. Let me clarify that it would be 1 CNA for about 12 to 15 residents and 2 if more than that. Plus, if the ward happens to have non-self-ambulatory residents, in other words, the resident uses a wheelchair and needs help getting into it or moving it, or a hoyer lift on the heavier residents, they do not necessarily add another CNA into the mix. The CNA may have to go to another hall/ward to ask for additional help.
That said, the problem really lies with the administration who doesn’t see fit to hire more floor help. Nursing homes are ALWAYS understaffed in that area EXCEPT for the 3 months prior to the state health dept coming out for the annual visit. Nursing homes will always add extra staff so that they can pass inspection, mostly to make sure resident looks clean and neat and ‘maybe’ as an extra hand on the floor for getting people up. Of course, the staff number will drop back down to “normal” right after the state leaves.
One NH I worked in had approximately 60-75 resident more or less. We had 5 CNAs and 2 bath aides to get residents up between 6:30am and 8am when breakfast was served. Most mornings the 3rd shift would get 1 or 2 residents up per hall before we came on, but those were the easy ones. And btw, these numbers are not when state is expected to show up. I should also mention that the NH I’m referring to was one of the better ones, but still would cheat by adding extra help whenever state was expected.
I do understand your concern here and believe me, as a CNA, we ALL complained about not having enough help. Of course, were WE listened to? NO!! And yet they told us we were the voice of the residents. We were the caregivers, the ones who knew what the residents needed on a personal level better than anyone else…pfffft….like that did any good.
Ok, I’ll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for letting me vent.
Given the incredible number of attorneys who specialize in senior abuse – and five falls in the time she’s been there does sound like abuse to me – there actually is a federal agency. You might give them a shot and see if it’s useful.
http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/Find_Help/State_Resources.aspx
My Sister is a Nurse, working in a full-care nursing home and your words are hers. With only 2 choices, you have made the best possible and to follow her advice, ‘never stop complaining’. It makes the Staff aware of just how closely you monitor things, and that increases the level of care. My heart goes out to you, DH and to MIL.