Mom's been to dermatologists many times, they all claim it is acne and have directed her to keep hands away and to moisturize her very dry skin. Her OCD tendencies are contributing to the problem, which have been addressed. We tried Paxil to little effect. She also thinks she's 100% right, that it is not acne and can be cured. She has delusions that she has to get at "the core" and pull it out, that there are "varmints" inside that need to be removed for it to heal. I am at wit's end with Mom, tried everything. She complains to me several times a day.
I would get her an anti-varmint facial mask to put on twice a day. It must be left on 30 minutes and she absolutely can't pick at it or it won't work. You could ask one of the dermatologists to recommend a product that won't be irritating to her dry skin. Otherwise I understand that Ponds moiturizing creme with a little bit of green food dye and a new computer-generated label is awesome as an anti-varmint solution. (Would someone at the care center be able to cooperate with this treatment?)
In addition to the mask twice a day, she needs a pill to take to kill these critters from the inside. I understand that a tiny vitamin D gelcap taken with lemon water is perfect.
And then 4 times a day she needs to hold a warm washcloth over her face for 5 minutes each time, so that the bad stuff can be washed away. Special healing clothes (sold in the cleaning supply aisle as microfibre cloths) are particularly effective. Get yellow if you can. It really pulls the impurities out.
She is right. This is not acne and it can be cured. Get into her world, and give her what she needs to feel like others are taking her seriously, she has something to do to take care of herself, and she can improve. Her face will still be marred but maybe it will get picked at a little less and she'll have something to do about it besides complain to you.
Won't she be surprised when you tell her you've researched it on the Internet, that she's right, and that you have found a cure?!