Mom is in a memory care facility. She is very frail and is often confused and forgetful. Twice in the past she may have been hit by a couple of residents. These incidents were not witnessed by anyone else. Director stated we cannot know what actually happened.
Now another resident hit he with his open hand, in front of my sister and other witnesses.
I live in another state and have her medical POA.
I have waited a couple of days for a report of what happened and what they plan to do to prevent this from happening again.
Mom has been there about 18 month. I wonder if I should move her to another facility. Beyond these three incidents, we have been satisfied with the facility and staff.
Discuss with administrator; I realize you are waiting for a report and you may have a clearer understanding of how to proceed once you read it.
Although you might also want to ask the administrator/manager in dept how often these things happen and how they handle it.
Is the facility required to report these incidents to any authority (I think they are).
Contact licensing board that oversees the facility if you feel this is warranted. At the very least, they should be made aware of what's happened.
Who witnessed the first incident as you say there weren't any witnesses?
You cannot depend on your mom to tell you what happened.
I am not 'sure' legally how these situations are handled (as I believe) memory care units indicate they 'offer' care/services to a group and not specifically to individuals on a 1-1 resident-staff ratio. In other words, they are not offering to observe / watch / monitor every resident 24/7, nor when the group is in the common area 'all at one time.'
I am not excusing this behavior or lack of attentiveness of staff.
It is a matter of what is covered legally and how the facility administrator handles these situations.
These unfortunate situations can often happen very quickly and if there are two staff workers on the floor with 8-10 residents ... and they are making / serving lunch or taking a resident to the bathroom - they cannot be watching everyone 'at once.'
It seems to me that if this occurred more than once that the person(s) inflicting physical harm or a physical action that could cause emotional or physical harm/pain on another resident needs:
1) a personal caregiver, in addition to the staff, and
2) medication assessment/management,
3) or both.
I am sad this happened to your mom, and more than once.
It is heartbreaking.
Let us know how you proceed. It is an important 'topic' / area of concern for many on this forum.
Gena / Touch Matters
For a short time there was a resident who was aggressive and angry who once pushed another resident and her husband down, resulting in a broken vertebrae in the husband’s back. He had to be moved to another facility and has just been removed from that facility as well as a result of his violent behavior.
That’s the very short version, the point being that there are strict regulations and procedures to assure patient safety. Become familiar with your state regulations.
having relatives sometime ago in facilities , I can see how they operate.
have you tried 6 bed board and care?
I think they are a little better, but not much.
probably the best is in home care.
I believe most do not have additional aids / staff. Thus, they would have much less ability to watch 'everyone' whereas facilities have management and usually two people on the floor.
All this needs to be checked out. I would contact the licensing board(s) of these places and read the contract's fine print.
I would also ask for referrals (likely they won't give).
I would ask to observe the facility / area. I am not sure this is allowed (to be present observing).
Ask a lot of questions.
Ask if the facility has been reported to the licensing board or BBB, or state. Talk to an Ombudsman in the area.
And, perhaps there is a Next Door in one's area / location or some local forum (or church) where others may have family in a specific facility / bb to discuss/ gain some information.
Gena / Touch
I would still advise to make a police report. Get it on record.
However, the facility is responsible and I wonder if calling the police could help with ensuring that the care facility protects the residents, including the one who has become violent.
I’ve been in many facilities, and can say most are the same. Best to have in home caregiving.
most facilities have a RN, but from what I saw most are paid to keep their mouth shut.
Medical POA means you carry out Moms wishes. You talk to the doctors and nurses concerning medical treatment. If a procedure has to be done not covered in the Medical POA, then you decide based on "what would Mom want". But, IMO, Mom getting slapped by a fellow resident could be handled by the Financial POA since that person is paying the bills and should be responsible in transferring Mom. Your sister could have filed a complaint being a witness and called the police. A resident hitting other residents should not be allowed.
There is supposed to be staff at the memory care to prevent violence against other residents from happening. Director says they can't be "sure" what happened, my a$$. Here's one thing that you can be sure of. The memory care does not have enough security staff (or likely any) to patrol and watch the areas where the residents have access to. They also do not have cameras in the common areas. There should be security footage that will show exactly what happened. The fact that your mother was assaulted right in front of you is pretty strong evidence of the facility's gross incompetence as far as safety and security measures go.
You should talk to a personal injury lawyer about a potential lawsuit being brought against the facility. There are two kinds of people who get a care facility to clean up its act. Those people are Ombudsmans and lawyers.