How many people out there find that nursing and rehab centers lie on their care plans?

Yes it happens all the time sad to say! My mom had a stroke back in Nov 20th on her left side. She was in the hospital a month and the nursing home rehab in Linden, Michigan for a month of less. She of course was suppose to have physical therapy. And with covid she could not get any visitors however, I called much and she called me. Found out the physical therapist were not in her room most of the time that long, didnt cone back like they said they would same day, ir would not show up. It was detrimental to her health. She left the nursing home not in the best condition. You would of thought with PT she would of got stronger somewhat or improved if PT documented all the hours they worked with her during her stay. It was all a bluff. They lied. They had down 6 days a week and all these hours. They had down all these exercises she did and there was no possible way she could do them. They wrote down she had a spouse to come home too. Her husband passed away in 2013. There was info on getting weighed daily when she could not leave the room. And i was told they only do that at the beginning and end of stay. All of this was documented incorrectly so her insurance company could discharged her sooner than what she needed. However, based on her care it was better that she cane home. Its sad that the information they provided was false. Im sorry you had to deal with that also. We have more seniors than ever in our population. They need better care. Its an awful shame.

Hands up.

Bridger,

Thanks for pointing that out. We are in New Orleans and the physical and occupational therapists are terrific. It’s readily available to us.

Wasn’t thinking about a smaller community.

Need, In some rural hospitals there may be limited OT and PT personnel. The sometimes get double booked and can’t be at two places at one time. Or there may be one therapist with a total overload of patients. Small hospitals and rural areas don’t have the same availability of providers that larger cities and larger hospitals have. You’re fortunate to be able to have the facilities and personnel always available.

What do you mean that physical and occupational therapists don’t show up?

When I brought my mom to the hospital after a bad fall I was absolutely clear relating to them that my mom did several rounds of home health that included physical and occupational therapy but I felt that she needed more than home health offers. She needed rehab.

The hospital listened to my concerns and acknowledged her need for rehab. I was extremely fortunate to have an experienced and caring nurse for mom who helped me make all of the arrangements and mom actually started working on preliminary physical therapy in the hospital.

I did have to fill out tons of paperwork at the facility. They helped explain everything in detail to me.

There were scheduled meetings with the social worker and the department head as well as the physical and occupational therapists to update me on my mom’s care.

The facility answered all of my questions and even said it would be in mom’s best interest to keep her a few extra days because she needed a bit more time in therapy.

Mom paid out of pocket for the additional days. Medicare only pays for a limited amount of days.

I was there on a regular basis too. I was told not to visit during certain times because mom would be in therapy.

There is a big gym area at the facility with the equipment used for therapy. No one is allowed to go into the gym. They are working hard and should not be interrupted by visitors. Otherwise there was an open door policy. If I got there a few minutes early while she was in therapy I waited in her room for her.

The therapists are wonderful in their care of working with seniors. Mom has Parkinson’s and they tailored her exercises to suit all of her needs.

One issue with Parkinson’s patients is trouble with mobility and balance. They do specific exercises for each individual.

Wasn’t all of this discussed with you beforehand about the schedule that therapy will be done?

For my mom therapy began around 8:00 in the morning, shortly after breakfast, then a brief lunch break, then back to work until 2:00 o’clock.

They worked so hard! Mom had a great attitude and improved with rehab. She was exhausted after all of her exercises.

I was so pleased that she made an effort to succeed. I told her that I was proud of her hard work.

The therapists push them to make an effort to do their very best but they make sure that they don’t exceed their capabilities.

She made friends there. When she was leaving an old woman was going as fast as she could in her wheelchair so she could catch up with my mom to say goodbye. It was sweet.

Please share what your experience was with your parent.

Care plans are written up ahead of care. They are revised over and over, updated as there are changes in the patient. There can be multiple changes in one day. Something may not be done because the equipment or personnel are not available. PT and OT may not happen because the patient refused the service. Care plans may be drawn up at one facility and not followed by the next facility or the next provider.

I am under the impression that Care plan are worked up before the actual caring is done. When my daughter was getting her RN, care plans were done the day before she saw the patient. I am not a Nurse but therevr members who are.