Deb, I am so very sorry you lost your Mom in these circumstances. I wish you had said so in your original post, as I think people are thinking your loved one is in for evaluation. You say that you are disappointed that you have not got more response. My responding here should bump your question up in the Forum and perhaps you will. I fear people don't respond when they have very little information in a question.
A brain bleed at 93 is tragically common as are strokes involving clots. At 93 death is more or less "expected" of one thing or another. I am sorry your mom wasn't in hospice care, as I think those medications to lull one to a point of comfort and freedom from agitation are likely a lot better to use at 93 than psychotropics. However, it is probable, with the fragility of our blood vessels in our 90s, that you mom sustained a bleed, and because of her former agitation it would be normal to think that whatever "new meds" were on board were WORKING and to let her get some rest. This bleed, if it is any comfort, almost certainly could not have been stopped in time to save the brain, and would have left your mom in a vegetative state. The records of the nursing facility will show what vital sign checks were being done, but without neuro checks they may have been normal until brain death, and would have served no purpose.
The mattress on the floor is common in neuro psych units as is absence of sheets. This has to do with rules preventing falls, particularly in the frail, and with suicide due to knotting sheets together and etc.
You have had a loss. The fact that your mom had a long life, and was currently not having any quality of life left (nor was likely to) doesn't make your loss easier for you to bear. And I know your worry over what could have/should have been checked is burdensome for you. Grieving specialists tell us that we often will try to prevent walking into and through grief by trying to second guess and place blame so that we just don't have the think about the finality of our loss.
So consider grief groups if there is one in your area, or private counseling. I wish you luck. I am so sorry for your having to have gone through this, and for your torment about what you loved one faced. To be honest I find it disturbing that loved ones could not visit; it raises suspicions in the minds of family no matter the intention.
I wish you healing. And I hope you have happy memories and a whole life of them to look back at when you begin to recovery from the grief.
Deb, my condolences on your loss. With AD and dementia at play, it's very typical for a facility to send a patient to the Neuro psych ward to get their meds straightened out to avoid agitation.
Consult with a malpractice attorney to see whether s/he thinks you have a case worth pursuing.
I wish I had more input from people. The whole truth is that my mom died in one of those places. she was getting too agitated in the nursing home( she was there for 4-5 days, as a new resident) so they decided to put her in the behavioral hospital to adjust her meds. We asked several times to visit and they always gave a reason we couldn’t. She was there 13 days and then she died. Of a brain bleed. We know very little. We were called by a nearby hospital that she had been brought in and they had hooked her up to oxygen and she had no reaction to stimulus. We only know that she was able to remember my number and called the night before. She wanted me to come get her. She said she was in jail. I said she was scheduled to come back(to the home) tomorrow and I couldn’t wait to see her. She was not agitated. Just heartbroken. They gave her a shot of something and the next day they did not check on her. They said, she’s sleeping let her sleep. I believe they didn’t check her vitals all day and she was slowly losing oxygen and dying. The nursing home has washed their hands of any involvement although they are the ones that sent my 93 year old mom to sleep on a 12” mattress on a floor!we took care of my mom and always made sure she was happy and taken care of. We put her in what we thought was a very nice nursing home. what do we do? We have asked for medical records to be sent to us and her family doctor.
Oh Deb, I am so very sorry this happened with your mom. My heart breaks to read your story.
You asked what these places are like. We discovered their focus is 100% on medicating to the exclusion of other potential therapies. So I don't have much good to say about them although I know they do help some people.
This type of facility was recommended for my loved one once. Before making the decision, we consulted in depth with one of the Dr's there and after understanding what they'd be doing, we didn't believe this was what was needed. It took about 3 weeks but my LO finally improved when all the various drugs given in hospital and rehab facility to control behavior were removed. I know there's a place for psychiatric drugs however it does depend on the circumstances. Some people react poorly to these medications.
Again, I am so so sorry. Definitely get those medical records.
Generally a neuro-psychiatric unit is the safest place to give and to evaluate the efficacy of medications. They are generally locked units in which the patients, if well enough, can circulate and can visit with one another. They often and in general feel quite safe with staff and with other patients. As an RN I used to float to neuro-psyc often. Evaluation of what medications work in a home environment or ALF is difficult because people don't keep solid notes on the person as they adjust to medication.
As with any hospitalization or rehab situation an individual place is best evaluated by the person and family using it; it would be difficult for us to judge any one of them. Hope that all goes well Do be aware that this is difficult, finding medications that work is touch and go, and ofen even when they do work they don't KEEP working and need re-adjustment. Best of luck.
A brain bleed at 93 is tragically common as are strokes involving clots. At 93 death is more or less "expected" of one thing or another. I am sorry your mom wasn't in hospice care, as I think those medications to lull one to a point of comfort and freedom from agitation are likely a lot better to use at 93 than psychotropics.
However, it is probable, with the fragility of our blood vessels in our 90s, that you mom sustained a bleed, and because of her former agitation it would be normal to think that whatever "new meds" were on board were WORKING and to let her get some rest. This bleed, if it is any comfort, almost certainly could not have been stopped in time to save the brain, and would have left your mom in a vegetative state.
The records of the nursing facility will show what vital sign checks were being done, but without neuro checks they may have been normal until brain death, and would have served no purpose.
The mattress on the floor is common in neuro psych units as is absence of sheets. This has to do with rules preventing falls, particularly in the frail, and with suicide due to knotting sheets together and etc.
You have had a loss. The fact that your mom had a long life, and was currently not having any quality of life left (nor was likely to) doesn't make your loss easier for you to bear. And I know your worry over what could have/should have been checked is burdensome for you. Grieving specialists tell us that we often will try to prevent walking into and through grief by trying to second guess and place blame so that we just don't have the think about the finality of our loss.
So consider grief groups if there is one in your area, or private counseling. I wish you luck. I am so sorry for your having to have gone through this, and for your torment about what you loved one faced. To be honest I find it disturbing that loved ones could not visit; it raises suspicions in the minds of family no matter the intention.
I wish you healing. And I hope you have happy memories and a whole life of them to look back at when you begin to recovery from the grief.
Consult with a malpractice attorney to see whether s/he thinks you have a case worth pursuing.
Good luck.
The whole truth is that my mom died in one of those places.
she was getting too agitated in the nursing home( she was there for 4-5 days, as a new resident) so they decided to put her in the behavioral hospital to adjust her meds. We asked several times to visit and they always gave a reason we couldn’t. She was there 13 days and then she died. Of a brain bleed. We know very little. We were called by a nearby hospital that she had been brought in and they had hooked her up to oxygen and she had no reaction to stimulus.
We only know that she was able to remember my number and called the night before. She wanted me to come get her. She said she was in jail. I said she was scheduled to come back(to the home) tomorrow and I couldn’t wait to see her. She was not agitated. Just heartbroken. They gave her a shot of something and the next day they did not check on her. They said, she’s sleeping let her sleep. I believe they didn’t check her vitals all day and she was slowly losing oxygen and dying.
The nursing home has washed their hands of any involvement although they are the ones that sent my 93 year old mom to sleep on a 12” mattress on a floor!we took care of my mom and always made sure she was happy and taken care of. We put her in what we thought was a very nice nursing home.
what do we do? We have asked for medical records to be sent to us and her family doctor.
You asked what these places are like. We discovered their focus is 100% on medicating to the exclusion of other potential therapies. So I don't have much good to say about them although I know they do help some people.
This type of facility was recommended for my loved one once. Before making the decision, we consulted in depth with one of the Dr's there and after understanding what they'd be doing, we didn't believe this was what was needed. It took about 3 weeks but my LO finally improved when all the various drugs given in hospital and rehab facility to control behavior were removed. I know there's a place for psychiatric drugs however it does depend on the circumstances. Some people react poorly to these medications.
Again, I am so so sorry. Definitely get those medical records.
Evaluation of what medications work in a home environment or ALF is difficult because people don't keep solid notes on the person as they adjust to medication.
As with any hospitalization or rehab situation an individual place is best evaluated by the person and family using it; it would be difficult for us to judge any one of them. Hope that all goes well Do be aware that this is difficult, finding medications that work is touch and go, and ofen even when they do work they don't KEEP working and need re-adjustment. Best of luck.