Dad's in assisted living and said something was wrong, tried getting a nurse but no call back. What do I do?

Are you sure the level of care your father needs is appropriate for this facility? You are paying extra for a higher level of care, but can this facility provide the care you are paying for? Assisted living facilities rely on private payers without necessarily giving the care an individual may need. Do not rely on star ratings solely.

Call the Ombudsman/woman for the state in which the facility is located.

Oh that is a great idea helpontheway. I'd go by if he is in Colorado Denver Area.

What state is the facility located in? If one of the friends can't go and see about him maybe one of us that live in the same state can pay him a visit.

CountryMouse thanks for asking about daddy's other care. I actually had a conversation with the head of the ASF and told hi,m what had happened not even n a threatening manner. The response back to me was shocking. Said quote-"you wanna try to sue us I dare you, people have tried in the past and have never succeeded. " Can you believe that? . This incident with daddy happened less than 2 years ago.

Country mouse; Well early last year daddy suffered
Blood Loss Shock from almost bleeding to death because a tooth being pulled at the dentist office.-Sent home and blood was pouring out. He kept filling up the garbage can with bloody gauze for 2 days. Daddy thought that might be normal. Then when a family member stopped by daddy was in shock. Called ambulance- could have died and all from a tooth bleeding and being on blood thinners. But no RA EVER bothered to check on him in the middl of the night, when they make rounds every 4 hours. You wonder if this is grounds for a lawsuit. Thank God daddy is still here.

Of course you want the best for him.

What about the rest of the care he receives? Any other issues?

If you're paying 5 star prices for this place I shouldn't worry unduly about their getting rid of him lightly - he sounds like a keeper, from their point of view. But there is absolutely nothing wrong in persistently but courteously insisting that he gets the services he's paying for. Be a terrier! Best of luck, hope there's better news soon.

If don is off, someone else must have the conn. I would make a fuss.

Great recommendation Pam Stegman . I appreciate the contact info. I just worry that IF I contact the joint commission that they will come up with an excuse to put daddy out on the curb. People in there 80's with dime tai and onset of Alzheimer's do not do well with change. Statistics say if you move a person with these conditions that they die within 2-4 years. That scares me. I want daddy to still be here. It seems ALF's have a way to make your life H*ll if you raise any red flags. Of course a 5 star facility wants to keep there high rating. But when there is a very quick turn over of nurses and staff- somewhere here is a problem. And if somehow the heads honchos of the Exact Facility has a guaranteed future employment status, you can't win.
This is not a good spot to be in when your father refuses to move to my state and my residence so I can take care of him. He still has a few friends that come to visit him, but it's sparse. I love my father and only want the best for him.

Ba8alou ; Dad has not had any TIA's for 30 years. But dad has fallen several times and now has cracked 2 ribs from falling. Director of Nursing never called back. She was off. She texted me back out of office at 9pm- calls were at 8:30am and 10am. We pay extra for The Assisted living to check on him every 4 hours, check his blood pressure, and heart rate-(had triple by-pass), and check pulse rate. So you would think at least THE nurse on duty would call back.

Orb; Assisted Living is NOT a nursing facility. If your dad is having ongoing TIAs, he may need a NH and not ALF. that being said, if you've called DON and gotten no call back for three days, that is certainly a red flag. Agree with Pam on this.

If the head nurse did not return my calls, I would call the Director. If the Director did not return my calls, I would file an online complaint at jointcommission.org, telling them the dates, times, who I called etc.

Country Mouse- Thanks for the comment. What prompted me to call and then also have daddy to push his pendent was because daddy said something was wrong in his head, he did not know what, but something. He never complains bless something IS wrong. He has had over 100 TIA's in the past. So of course, I was afraid he was having another.
I need to look up what an ALF is.

Orb, do you know anybody local to your father's ALF? Because if it were me, and I couldn't get there, I'd want somebody to turn up in person and require an explanation.

Now, admittedly the three days would include the weekend; and in most places that would mean fewer staff on duty than during the week. I'm also not quite sure what you mean by 'vitals' and whether the average Residents' Assistant would feel competent to do that exam and give you an answer. Possibly their time has been spent trying to track down a nurse to do it, and the nurse would want a reason; possibly if it's your father charged with asking them to do the exam then your father isn't being clear about what's required?

In any case, this seems to be highlighting a location problem: you need boots on the ground, one way or another. Any volunteers you can think of? Otherwise, maybe it's time to consider moving him, just one more time, to be within practical travelling distance of you. What prompted you to ask for this check in the first place? I hope your father turns out to be okay.

I am the contact and have his POA. Dad never pushes his pendent. Never complains- very sweet. He only tells me if something is wrong and I try to asses the situation.

I think thats a disgrace they should have called you back! i agree with blannie but if this was the case surely other family would have called you by now? gosh you put them in there to stay safe then they dont call you to let you know hes safe? its a bit strange alright?

Orb8888, curious how often does your Dad ask a nurse to check his vitals? If this is a frequent request, maybe they know that it isn't urgent and his request is placed at the bottom of the triage.

I wonder if they're not calling because you're not his contact person? Do you have his POA (Power of Attorney) for healthcare? There may be privacy issues that prevent them from calling you unless he's designated you as the person to contact. I'd start there. I'd also call their Executive Director. In my mom's facility, that's the top dog, I believe.