Shouldn’t memory care units separate extreme patients who scream and fight from others? Like a special unit? One person is agitating all.

There have been a few news exposés in Canada recently but resident on resident violence (and resident on staff violence too) isn't new and is a dirty little secret in long term care homes wherever you live. Violent residents can be more than just annoying, they can cause real harm and even death to those unfortunate enough to be the recipient of their ire. I don't have all the answers, but wringing our hands and talking about the patient's right to care and privacy isn't it. I believe that a protocol for assessing residents for violence and making available appropriate interventions needs to be mandated, and the only way that can happen is if we bring this issue to light and apply pressure to our legislators.

I am going to "play the Devil's Advocate" here.
You see what happens but you do not know what is being done for this patient.
And HIPPA laws prevent them from telling you what is being done.

*They may be trying to have this person's medication adjusted. This can take a while.
*This person may have been just been uprooted from the home they have known for years and is ..angry...scared...lost...
*Taking things from another person's room is VERY common and if you read many of the posts others have asked about it. There is not much that can be done.
*The administration may be having discussions with the family that the behavior is unacceptable and they may have been given some time for adjustment and if the patient/resident does not adjust they will be asked to find another facility.

Continue to monitor what is going on.
I would also send a letter, not an email, that you are concerned about your Mom's safety. If you have or if your Mom has a lawyer that handles her affairs a copy to the lawyer might be a good idea. You might even ask, since you are concerned about your Mom's safety and theft, if you can put a camera in her room to monitor her safety and her possessions.
And yes there are facilities that will take agitated patients/residents but I am sure this persons family is trying what they can to avoid that. There are forms of dementia (LBD) that the person can have more violent tendencies and it is a matter of medication adjustment. But like with all medications for Mental Illness it can take time to find the right medication, the right dose.

Continue to have meetings with the administration but Please be patient..

My mom was the agitator. She was sent for a psych assessment a few times. There they would try to adjust her meds to help keep her more calm. It would work for awhile, until another med adjustment. Over the two years she was in a facility she needed an outside caregiver to be with her on a one on one basis as a diversion, that helped. This was an additional charge as the facility had others they had to provide care for.

Moves are very hard on those with dementia.

Thank you for all your responses. Heart to heart I appreciate your insights. These are all thoughts I will consider. I’m still going to push for a peaceful environment for all trying to be respectful to all parties. Thank you.

If this person has violent tendencies, then she needs to be in a Psychic facility. Like said, for med adjustment. Yes, the safety of staff and residents should be the priority. Wait and see if anything is done. They maybe trying to adj her meds first. If nothing seems to be happening call the Ombudsman and see what can be done.

If this unfortunate lady hit another patient then she is not just stealing the peace of others, she is a threat to them. Your mother has a right to personal safety. I would be worried, too.

What was the management's response to your concern?

My mother could be the agitator too. She slapped two other residents that I know of, and when she picked on the wrong person, she herself got shoved into a wall. Luckily, the families of the people she attacked never brought charges. There was a very large man on the regular floor who was very loud and could be combative. To the best of my knowledge, he never attacked another patient. He was medicated, monitored and supervised. The facility, both the regular floor and the Alzheimer’s lockdown, handled it the best they could. Incidents were documented and reported. If one resident took a dislike to another, they were supervised more closely. My mother was given a room across from the nurses station.

You can always speak with an attorney if you feel the facility is not handling this the right way, but chances are that they are doing all they can. And remember, if you do speak with the facility’s administrators, there is only so much about this woman that they can divulge.

In January, we moved my mother into a private home memory care facility (fully licensed and regulated). She was not on any meds and threw plenty of fits, throwing objects, banging, breaking things. I was very concerned for the four other residents and worried that my mother would get kicked out for her behavior. We were assured the staff was "used to this" (though I doubt the other residents were) and they said once meds were introduced (and if she would consent to take them - a whole 'nother battle), regulated, and she got used to being there, she would likely settle down. It has been 3+ months now and Mom is definitely less combative, less yelling and screaming, though she's still very angry.

Difficult as it is, try to give this new resident time to calm down. Meanwhile, if possible, keep your mother's door closed and introduce sound - even white noise - into her room if possible to mask the sounds of others. I wish you luck.

This reminds me of an extremely disruptive student in my child's classroom. All students suffered the entire year. In other words, it happens in many realms. I would communicate my concerns by framing it around the impact on your loved one's day-to-day quality of life. Work your way up starting with your loved one's social worker. My parent was paired with an abusive roommate (mostly verbal). I expressed my concerns and requested a room change. Nothing. Finally, I witnessed an explosive physical action by this roommate. I also saw how upset dad was not only because he felt threatened but because he was concerned for my safety. I was taking him out of facility that day and on the way out, we bumped into his lawyer who happened to be visiting someone there. He implored her to act on his behalf to mitigate this matter. I reinforced to the social worker that he had requested his lawyer to address the matter with the director. That's what it took. After I had asked multiple times for him to have a new roommate to no avail, another bed miraculously opened up and dad was moved. So, ask for your loved one to be moved as far away as possible from the offender because of the detrimental effect on your loved one (ie. lack of sleep, safety fears, missing items, etc.) I would also like to add that many facilities ask (don't require) that you sign a form that says that if anything happens to your loved ones, you won't sue, but instead let the complaint go to an arbitrator of their choosing. I never signed that form for either of my parents. The facility must ultimately know that they are accountable for the welfare of their residents.

I have a friend who works in an Alzheimer’s unit. She said some places withdraw a patient’s antipsychotic medication to get a better ranking from the state. This makes the patients with violent behavior more prone to pick on the innocent others, no fault of their own. She said they even went so far as to tell a patient’s family who was beaten up by another patient that “she fell”. My friend reported what was going on and there was complete turn over of management and a lot of upper level employees. Make sure this isn’t going on with your loved ones.