My mom has been in a skilled nursing home for 8 years. For the first few years things were great. Then there was a huge change in personnel. Many left. Things changed and not for the good. I developed a rare spinal condition that impairs my mobility. I couldn't visit as often. I have managed weekly visits. Mom had two injuries to each hand within a week. The last gash required steri-strips but because it wasn't reported mom received no wound care. The nurse was notified by the CNA who did nothing!! No documentation or incident report, no wound treatment. It was like it never happened. Sounds like someone doesn't want anybody to know anything. Now I am worried all the time. I am all my mom has near by. I am a mandated reporter. I believe in it. My siblings, who are across the country, don't want me to report due to reprisal, like discharge. Would you report to your state authorities?
I'd find another safe place for Mom before calling in the authorities though, as there might be retaliation. But once Mom is safe somewhere else, definitely involve them. You might also report to Medicare as well; I don't know the frequencies of their reviews, but perhaps a special review might be in order for a noncomforming facility.
WHY WAS I NOT CALLED WHEN THIS HAPPENED? WHY ARE YOU ALLOWING MY MOTHER TO BE HURT AND THERE IS NO FOLLOWUP NO PHONE CALL TO ME?
Ask her doctor that you want a her to be evaluated for Palliative care and/or Hospice care. Perhaps that is what the Skilled Nursing Home is supposed to do.
when my mother was in the hospital, for what, I don't recall, too many times, I went to visit her in the morning before going to work. I found her naked leaning over her bed and asleep... And she was near the nursing station. I yelled and I was very mad, what the Hell,,, Never have I seen anything like that before. They were quick to fix that, how long was she there like that? No idea. The guy I was screaming at, quickly admitted that he just clocked in, he just got there. Really? that's an excuse?
Did you ask why there were injuries? And demand an explanation. Is mom totally disabled? Perhaps they got someone working who doesn't know how to maneuver or handle people correctly....
My hsopice nurse says she can personally by herself handle a 275 pound man without creating brusies or marks.
I post notes, document, yell if I have to. I do try to be nice but nobody hears nice, lawsuit and report seems to get their attention. But still won't meet my demands- like a 1-2 day suspension of the nurses that I reported the injuries to and still did nothing. Not even wound care or incident report.
Sounds to me like something has changed in her surroundings or in her control of her limbs so that your mother is repeatedly knocking or scraping her hand(s) against some object that should not be there. What might it be?
Second, and much more difficult, is it possible for you to maintain an objective non defensive stance in your communications? There was one major instance in my mother’s residence over 5 years that caused me to snarl a bit, but because I had been objective, specific, and reasonable during other less important gripes, my SNARL was heard and addressed.
The reporting system for my mother in her setting was VERY EFFECTIVE, and the reporting system for my current loved one is also EXCELLENT, even with a confusing and annoying situation with two non-communicating POAs.
I'm SO EARNESTLY IN YOUR CORNER on this issue. My present LO is a fairly severe fall risk, and she has received exemplary attention for various incidents, and I have the enormous good fortune to be able to get to her residence or the local receiving hospital when something happens.
Hoping you can resolve this issue to your mother and you own comfort levels. Please let us know how things proceed.
You arrive for your weekly visit and find that there are four cuts on your mother's hands. Two cuts per hand. One of them looks nasty but has not been treated. There is nothing on her file about anything relevant.
The idea, here, is primarily to ensure that she does not sustain further injuries. That is what matters.
1. Get the nasty cut treated.
2. Find out what happened. If you get nothing from the staff except dumb insolence or helpless panic, you will have to figure it out yourself. What is she scraping or hitting or knocking her hands against? What is causing these injuries?
3. Put right whatever the cause of the cuts is. If you really can't find it (there's a limit to what could be doing it - fingernails, bolts on wheelchairs or commodes, bed frames, door frames, the underside of dining tables - look closely at what she comes into contact with) then consider options such as cotton gloves.
4. Require an explanation from the SNF of how this came about, why it was not documented and managed as it ought to have been, and how this situation will be prevented in future.
If I found that I was prevented from following these steps, or if God forbid I returned the following week and found more injuries, THEN I would get external authorities involved, certainly.
Meanwhile I'd probably think it a good idea to start researching alternative nursing homes anyway. You never know when you might need one, after all.
Your siblings are across the country and you are already doing all you can. Are there any local friends or neighbours you might recruit as extra visitors, just temporarily?
My mother has been in two nursing homes in the last 16 months. She's been in a very good place now for 8 months, despite the fact that she's fallen out bed twice and has been dropped by two different CNAs twice while assisting with the bathroom. They call me right away and let me know. I have no idea if this means they report it or not. Actually they call about most things. Because my mother continues to tell me "how nice they are" -- she never said it about the last nursing home (that had a 5-Star Medicare rating, but couldn't hire a cook on the weekends, or manage to answer the front desk phone at all!) -- I feel that I have to go by my overall experience and my dialog with my mother.
That's why I took care of my mom at home until she died, and she lived a very peaceful life surrounded with love but I also sacrificed my life for her. I did everything I could for her including a feeding tube but it provided her all her needs, I did a bowel and cleaning schedule, changed her about 5 times a day (at least) and her skin was in perfect condition and not once did I ever have give her a single narcotic or psychotropic. Irony Alzheimer's disease did not kill her--God took her life with liver tumors and liver liver failure. But I made certain only God would take her life. So I cannot reproach myself or feel any guilt because I really did above and beyond to keep her safe, healthy and comfortable.Her care was based on a very strict routine -- her mind was confused enough but a routine kept her feeling secure, and only the last three months of her life she was bed ridden. But her mind also totally gone and could no longer respond to the environment; it was like taking care of Terri Sheivo her Alzheimer's was truly most advanced stages. Still I put her in the living room daily and kept up a routine, then back to bad after about 6 hours. I still have that Hoyer lift to remind me what I been through every single day.
That was my mom and I would never dump her in some filthy nursing home. She was the only thing in this life that mattered to me. She was my life, heart and soul..and I lost her forever..but I did all I could for her in life. When I lost mom it feels like nothing in this world could possibly hurt me any worse than losing her. That is how much I love mom.
Since you stuck you mother in a nursing home my advice is to VISIT DAILY and inspect her skin. Do not miss a single day. The burden is still on you and your family to make sure she is getting quality care. But like I said I would rather cut my own arm off before sticking my mom in one of those pest holes.
Go online and report elder abuse.
Good Luck.
I would ask you when you see things to consider what you see overall at the place, what you hear when you visit. Would ask you to consider your much loved elder and what might happen at this point around your own house.
As to steri strips, on aging skin they can cause more surface tearing and are inappropriate for surface cuts, they work only for deep gashes. A wrap is more appropriate and without oily salves even THOSE cause more trouble.
You will have to decide what you see and what you must do. Just trying to give you the other side or be the devil's advocate so you will consider it all and wishing you good luck.
If you are mandated, then you follow the law of your profession and rules. None of us can change those requirements or give advice on do you follow the rules or not. If you wait until something worse happens (that they don't report) it will come back for you to explain - why have ALL of the injuries not been reported until after the serious injury.
For your siblings in regard to your professional mandate - would they rather to ensure she gets to stay in the very place that may eventually seriously injure mom in order to avoid a problem now? That would be like leaving their kid in day care when they see bruises, but don't want to exert the effort to find a safer place for the kid. Would they do that? If yes, you would be mandated to report their kid in danger as well.
1 - Talk to the nurse. Realize that the nurse is responsible for the care the CNAs perform. Let him/her know that you are also lodging a complaint with their supervisors.
2 - Lodge complaint - be specific - with the facility. Give them a reasonable time to address your issues. You should see improvement within the week. If no improvement within 3 weeks...
3 - Lodge complaint with the state. If I was going to lodge a complaint with the state, I would also have another placement for my LO available.