My thanks to D.L. for sharing the following account of nursing home neglect and poor work ethics with us. Whether it’s nursing home staff taking an excessive number of smoking breaks, talking on their cell phones while on duty, or standing around gossipping with co-workers instead of caring for the needs of the residents assigned to their care, this sort of inappropriate behavior is an all-too-common problem found in many nursing homes.
It seems to me that having a “daily allotment” of wash rags, is an example of corporate greed could endanger the health and safty of residents. Does the state know about this policy?
I encourage D.L. to share all of this information with her area long-term care Ombudsman and/or the administrator of the facility where her sister resides.
This past Sunday when I visited my sister at the nursing home she is in, at 11:20am when I arrived, the housekeeping/laundry supervisor was sitting in a chair in the tv room playing the “Wii” video game that had been bought for the residents to use. At 12:30pm he was still in the chair. I heard later that he was supposed to be mopping the floor.When we went to give our sister a shower, which we do twice a week, there were no clean wash cloths. An aide told us they had been told they had used their “alloted amount for the day” and couldn’t have any more clean ones until the next morning.Later in the day, when residents got their supper trays, the only silverware in the napkins was a fork and a straw. The sad thing is the residents had SOUP for supper. Staff had to find plastic spoons for the residents to eat with.
Wouldn’t the time of the housekeeping/laundry supervisor been better spent washing laundry instead of playing with the Wii?
September 3, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My suggestion is to approach management with all which was witnessed and conveyed. Accountability can not occur in a vacuum. Approach the errant nursing assistants/ housekeepers/ and say (outloud!) “If you all are out here then who is watching my mother?” How about “I need to speak with the person in charge please”. “Connect me to the Director of Nursing please”. or “Connect me to the Administrator”. Somebody who is “in charge” is there. “Get me a washcloth for my mother now please”. “Hey, do you get paid to play with video games here?…Where do I sign up?”
Advocacy is part of the admissions process. Admitting a loved on to a nursing home is a responsibility in of itself. Speak up! Defend and advocate their welfare. Why repeat these admittedly horrifying scenerios in the annonymity of a blog???
September 3, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Karen asked: “Why repeat these admittedly horrifying scenerios in the annonymity of a blog???”
Dave, the blog owner responds…
We “repeat” the information about the neglect and abuse of loved ones in a nursing home setting for a couple of reasons:
– We have the right to. It’s called freedom of speech.
– We have the right to inform the public (readers of this blog) about that pitiful state of nursing home care in this country. Change — substantial change at least — wont happen unless our stories are shared.
– Many of us have been retaliated against (or had our loved one retaliated against) in response to confronting problems with management as you suggest. Some facilities have management that cares, but many we’ve dealt with (are dealing with even these days) will smile, tell us what we want to hear and NOTHING gets any better. This is NOT just my experience — it is a widespread reality.
I do agree that confronting management is appropriate. When that doesn’t work, then go to your area long-term care Ombudsman. If that doesn’t work file a complaint with the state regulatory agency that oversees nursing home care (in Indiana: Indiana Board of Health; In Kentucky: Office of the Inspector General, etc.). If that doesn’t work, post here (in fact, post here anyway — you have a RIGHT TO SHARE your pain and to know that you are NOT alone). If need be, contact your local news media.
As to “why anonymity”? For a great reason. Because retaliation is something we HAVE to be concerned about! I’ll share more about how I’ve been retaliated against in another post in the near future. But the retaliation against me is NOTHING compared to what a defenseless nursing home resident can face because of family members that stand up for their rights.
February 19, 2009 at 6:48 pm
My sister and I were actually told in a care plan meeting for another sister, who is a resident in a local facility, by a former DON that if we didn’t watch what we said that it would affect our sister’s care. When I asked him if he was talking retaliation he didn’t answer me. Then it got wrote up for the records that he said we were “hurting people’s feelings. I did tell him that we were US citizens and had freedom of speech. And furthermore so did the residents.
Thank God he no longer works there but I don’t see much improvement with his replacement. She just says the problems have already been addressed and I don’t want to talk about them anymore.