What problems have you seen in Assisted Living?

My mom loved her apartment in Assisted Living. She didn't get involved with activities much. She was always ready for meal time and always went down early. Just about this time last year she was moved to Skilled Nursing. She has thrived in SN, always involved in activities. Last week a few of the ladies were taken out for a ride and lunch on the facility bus . She gets great care and she loves the walk in bathtub.

I don't have anything that approaches your situation. It sounds like there are major problems and there are so many of them. It sounds quite disturbing.

My Dad lived in Independent Living which had some Assisted Living options while he was in IL. Every now and then I would asked Dad what would he change about living there to make life better. He couldn't think of one thing. He was happy as a clam being there.

Even almost a year later when he moved into the Assisted Living/Memory Care wing, he had no complains. Oh, except for the monthly rent, but he understood it took a village to take care of everyone.

My Mom was in another facility long-term-care for 3 months before she passed. She had accelerated dementia due to a head trauma fall at home, she wasn't able to reason out anything, so I couldn't ask her what she thought or how was her care. Dad and his caregiver would go at noon to visit my Mom and the caregiver would feed Mom... just not enough Staff to help those at the same time.

One time at the long-term care facility, it was later in the evening and the Staff was trying to round up the patients to get them settled into their bed. But 2 or 3 of the patients would climb out and start wandering the halls, and the Staff would round them up, again.  And a third time.  One night was extremely busy, I heard one nurse or aide say "Lord, give me strength".

I have no
Experience with an ALF other than mom's memory care which is a specialty ALF

I have continually been underwhelmed by what they deliver versus what they promote

Several folks in the past year have been moved out by their loved ones following falls or other incidents

Mom is a handful and I have personal caregivers with her 12 hours a day

Her doctors recommend this place which is well known and say there are so few options

She's not ready for a SNF yet so I do what I can to see she is safe however I can't afford the private caregivers indefinitely so we take it day by day

Not sure if she needed oxygen I would attempt to keep her there

I have experience with a regular AL for a few months. Then, a Memory Care AL. I am more impressed with the MC, because they are more equipped to handle my LO's needs. They know how to manage dementia behavior and to take care of those who are not able to communicate their needs. I think that problems with a facility often arise if the resident is in a facility that does not provide the appropriate level of care that they need. 

My issues with the the regular AL was that they seemed to have a problem with medical transport and even though it was their job to provide her transport, they claimed they were not available, much of the time. (Already booked up.) So, I had to transport. This is huge for someone in a wheelchair and when I was self employed. I should have complained more, but, didn't have the time. lol

Regular AL was clean as a pin and had impressive daily activities, LIVE entertainment several times per week! I attended a lot of the performances. Awesome and varied meals. Downside: I got the feeling that their was miscommunication with the staff between themselves. They were very observant and caring to the residents, but, didn't seem to be well trained in handling dementia behavior, so would call me to address it. Too many calls for things they should be able to handle. 

Memory Care is also clean as a pin and more equipped to handle dementia patients. Laundry issues though. And, this sounds petty, but, I have arrived to find my LO's radio playing a station that she would not choose, EVEN though, I have made it known what music is to be played. I find that frustrating. But, she is kept clean, well nourished, well groomed, safe, and always seems to love the staff. She has told me that they are good to her. It's a small, family run facility, so, we are all on a first name basis.

Both places had regular volunteer visitors from churches and civic groups who visit, provide gifts, parties, etc.

No place is perfect, but, I think that I lucked up with some great facilities.

I'm surprised how low the fines are too
The ombudsman has been called a few times recently to my mom's facility and licensing has made surprise visits agreeing there was sufficient evidence to substantiate the complaint
Fine $100

Assisted Living is not a place for someone who needs an instantaneous response, at least that's how I see it. AL means that your loved one's meds get dispensed correctly, that they get assistance with bathing, rocketing and grooming and that if they don't show up for a meal, someone checks on them. It's much safer than living alone, but less attention than your parent gets living with a 24/7 caregiver.

Well, so far Ive hear nothing but sweetness about Assited living although the question is "what have been the issues, etc. Assited living facilities are not free of issues. Complaints against facilities depend on a few things; 1. How much care does your individual need or require. 2. how long you visit to whether you see the issues or not. 3. If you feel safer to not look for any issues because the person is being cared for elsewhere and you do not want /or cannot have that change. It's the pick your battles decisions... but when it comes to safety of our elders, frequent visits and open eyes seem to learn the industry is not what it claims to be.

My father is very happy at his ALF. His big complaint is response time when he " buzzes" for help. Not enough staff.
I am going to meet with Head Nurse and review the time logs. This facility is one of the nicest in our town, and I am going to let them know what our expectations are.

By and large, the place where my parents live provides very good care, has a kind and well trained staff, and does things "right" as far as I can tell. My mom is less cognitively disabled than my dad, so I think I'd hear something from her if there were any mistreatment of him going on. On the other hand she suffers from depression and frequent headaches, and for more than two years she stayed in their apartment almost all the time unless I came to get her for an appointment. They allowed my dad to bring all her meals to her and didn't do anything to help her participate in life. The other problem that I've seen is that as a big company, they're less than understanding about financial issues. When they got behind in their rent they were actually served with an eviction notice, which the director said was state law, but it seemed very cruel to me. On the upside, she's been readmitted twice after hospital stays, and this second time, they've taken her problems in hand and are now escorting her to meals, persuading her get dressed and helping her take better care of herself. We are paying extra for all of that though. I think the bottom line is that if you can pay, you can get good care in a good facility. If you're not a high paying customer, maybe not so much. (We'll find out soon -- they are going to have to switch to Medicaid in less than a year unless a miracle happens.)