Susan, the first thing that you need to do is take a deep breathe and relax so that you can investigate the situation calmly and properly. Next, contact the nursing home and confirm exactly what happened. Was your father actually attacked by another resident or a staff member OR because of your father's Alzheimer's/Dementia, did he misunderstand what was going on?
Since the attack happened at night while he was sleeping, I am wondering if the nursing staff was attempting to take him to the toilet and when they got your father out of bed, he thought that they were attacking him.
I know of instances where the resident thought the nursing staff was attacking him/her when the nursing staff woke the resident up and took him/her to the toilet and another time when the nursing staff was giving a resident a bath.
Once you know exactly what happened, then you and the nursing director can plan how to avoid a repeat of the attack in the future.
My mil said her room and she were on fire, late last night. It's been hot here, so I'm guessing she was warm, but she would say anything, so you need to verify with the facility if it happened and then take it from there.
Unacceptable. Was he hurt? Your response should be proportional to the severity and intent of the interaction, after those facts are known. Regardless, RN nurse manager should have contacted you to describe the incident and what they’re doing to prevent it. If you’re not happy with that solution, a meeting with the manager, the social worker, the DON, administrator, ombudsman, should happen quickly. I’ve received 2 calls about “interactions” (not assaults). The first turned out to be another lady resident trying to help Mom up when she slid from her chair (at first it was reported that she caused the fall but after interviewing other witnesses that wasn’t true). The 2nd was a male resident who hit her in the arm, when he was trying to hit a nurse. Mom was just in the way. He didn’t hurt her but he did get in trouble for the whole episode. I didn’t make a big deal out of either of these cases once I heard the facts. They do have a case of one lady who consistently rolls herself into another lady’s room at night. They have put up a wide Velcro Caution band across the door so she can’t get in, but the staff can still see in. If this is a one-off case with your dad, and he wasn’t hurt, that maybe a solution to keep people out at night.
Susan, sorry to that had happened to your father. Did the nursing home tell you about this, or was it your father who told you?
If the attack was by another resident, what does the nursing home plan to do so that this won't happen again to your father or another resident?
If your father told you this happened, I had noted from your profile that your father has Alzheimer's/Dementia, and with this disease it is not uncommon for a person to believe something real had happened, when it didn't.
So you will need to sort out what what was truly real and what wasn't.
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Since the attack happened at night while he was sleeping, I am wondering if the nursing staff was attempting to take him to the toilet and when they got your father out of bed, he thought that they were attacking him.
I know of instances where the resident thought the nursing staff was attacking him/her when the nursing staff woke the resident up and took him/her to the toilet and another time when the nursing staff was giving a resident a bath.
Once you know exactly what happened, then you and the nursing director can plan how to avoid a repeat of the attack in the future.
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I’ve received 2 calls about “interactions” (not assaults). The first turned out to be another lady resident trying to help Mom up when she slid from her chair (at first it was reported that she caused the fall but after interviewing other witnesses that wasn’t true). The 2nd was a male resident who hit her in the arm, when he was trying to hit a nurse. Mom was just in the way. He didn’t hurt her but he did get in trouble for the whole episode. I didn’t make a big deal out of either of these cases once I heard the facts.
They do have a case of one lady who consistently rolls herself into another lady’s room at night. They have put up a wide Velcro Caution band across the door so she can’t get in, but the staff can still see in. If this is a one-off case with your dad, and he wasn’t hurt, that maybe a solution to keep people out at night.
If the attack was by another resident, what does the nursing home plan to do so that this won't happen again to your father or another resident?
If your father told you this happened, I had noted from your profile that your father has Alzheimer's/Dementia, and with this disease it is not uncommon for a person to believe something real had happened, when it didn't.
So you will need to sort out what what was truly real and what wasn't.