When I arrive in the mornings, they usually have just put on a fresh diaper, though sometimes they don't even put it on properly and one side is not covering one butt check. His sheets are often wet and there is evidence that he has dug out the wet parts of his previous diaper because little parts of it are on him and in the bed and on the floor. Whenever I arrive earlier than they expect, they rush in to change him while I wait at the door. The overnight staff lie and say that they "check" every two hours and change more than once but it just isn't true. The day staff know that the overnight staff are not changing any of the residents except for once in the morning. My Dad often sleeps late into the day and it makes me wonder if he has stayed awake a lot of the night uncomfortable and wet. I don't know what to do. I see him in the morning and again at night and when I leave at 7pm at night I put a high-absorbency diaper on him (that we bought for him) to try to maximize the time he stays dry. Still...nearly 10 hours is too long to be in a diaper and my research says that 4 hours is the max (provided no stool). We live in a small town so our options are slim on other facilities. My mom can't drive long distances and she spends the middle part of every day with him. I feel that overnight staff won't change because there is no accountability or checking in on them to see if they are doing their jobs. It is very difficult for any facility to get staff (so I've learned...) so they feel comfortable that they won't get fired. Any ideas on how to navigate this situation to keep my Dad safe? I'm worried about him getting a UTI. (He already had one in July that went into sepsis and hospitalization). Thank you for any ideas.
Are cameras allowed in your state? If so, please look into installing one. A picture is worth a thousand words. You will have proof that the staff isn’t caring for your dad properly.
Wishing you success in resolving this issue.
V-tech camera:
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Notes:
You can purchase single caterers at a local medical supply in different sizes to try them out and see which size is best. Be sure your Dad is not allergic to this silicone catheter. My brother in law could not use them. My husband has never had any issues with them.
You can also request catheter samples from Coloplast. Call 1-866-226-6362 or send an email to samples@coloplast.com.
Thank you so much for your encouragement and advocacy. I hope you and your family are doing well!
Dad is back home; we have a male CNA coming in 5 hours a day and hospice comes in several times a week. It is working out well and I no longer feel helpless and angry all the time.
I hope that in the near future all staff at facilities get paid much more than they do now, because I think that would really attract more people into these jobs to know that they will be properly compensated. These are our loved ones who only have a limited time left with us -- they do deserve the best!
The facility ended up asking us to move Dad to another facility, but we decided to bring him back home. Our long-term insurance pays for a CNA to come in 5-hours a day. Because we are in hearing distance we know when he needs to be changed at night and have also learned how to adjust his sleep time and the last liquids of the day so that he doesn't have to be changed at 3am. During the day, we change him every 2-4 hours. Usually every 2 hours though. So usually 6-8 changes a day.
Thank you so much to you and everyone else who responded back. It means a lot that others were willing to take the time to show they care and to offer their thoughts. I hope you and your family are doing well.
Assisted living is a different care level than a nursing home. If your father is not able to use a bedside urinal and is in diapers, he should probably be in a nursing home now. AL staff doesn't provide invalid care.
Start looking for a nursing home. In the meantime see if it's possible that he can use a condom catheter at night. This will keep him dry.
From the beginning, we were never told the stipulations for living at the facility. I actually didn't know it was assisted living...it seems so strange to have assisted living for people with dementia/Alzheimers. When we first met with the director, I remember her saying that residents can stay until they pass away. If we knew they couldn't care for more advanced needs, we would not have chosen the place. Like I said, there were plenty of residents that were in wheelchairs, incontinent and not able to eat on their own.
I feel like I was very naive at the beginning and didn't question anything because I thought that these were all professionals. It causes me great pain to feel like I let my Dad down and didn't protect him.
I have spoken to facility admin, state inspectors, hospital admin...the only thing that happened is that the original director and nurse were fired. But ultimately little changed.
You are right that they should be shut down for a variety of reasons. But I think they are protected because they are one of just a few facilities in a small town...so it seems that no one wants them to close because then they would have to find places for residents elsewhere. That's my guess anyway.
My Mom, with Dementia, was in a small AL. She was an easy care but there were a few I wondered if should be in LTC. AL do not do 2 person transfers. I can understand not using a hoyer lift. That usually takes 2 people, I think.
And from your discription of this place, I think Burnt is right that they are not equipped to care for some of their residents and should be reported.
What's weird is that they never said that they don't change residents; instead, they said that they do checks every 2 hours to see if someone needs to be changed. So my complaint was that they actually do not do checks every two hours as they say they do.
You are right: the staff are not skilled to do anything beyond assisted living.
Thank you for your reply; I hope you and your family are doing well.
Thanks for your update to us below.