Can a nursing home give me supervised visits as a punishment for finding and reporting pressure sores on my father?

Is dad exhibiting behavior problems after you leave? Are you calm cool and collected when you visit? Or are you getting dad riled up? They have the responsibility to care for dad, that also means doing their best to help him adjust and limit his exposure to anything that may harm him physically or emotionally.

Is the requirement for supervised visits in writing?

If not, ask for it to be put in writing.

Then send the request to the Ombudsman and report that you are being required to have supervised visits. Point out that this seems to be an act of retaliation.

And CC your lawyer.

Yes, the nursing home is locked because of the virus, but my personal issue of supervised visit happened in early February because I got the help from the department of aging, because the nursing home ignored my emails and phone calls. I waited 10 days for the nursing home to do the right thing, then I called the department of aging, health dept. and my lawyer. The Ombudsman finally got the correct mattress and more support. My question was, can the nursing home retaliate? Do they have a legal right to supervise my visits and treat me like a criminal for reporting. Everything is worse because I can't see Dad and he is declining. It's so awful.

True, JoAnn. The air mattresses are very good.

Pressure sores if on the heals are important and should not happen. Your father needs an air mattress.

When my Dad was admitted to rehab it was noted that there was redness on his heals. First sign that he needed an air mattress. Within a couple days the redness turned into blisters and then they broke. Mom mentioned it and they were bandaged. No air mattress. My daughter made it in on the 4th day. She has been sick. I told her about the blisters. She looked at them, there already was dead skin. She marched out to the DON. The Nurse agreed with all of Renee's complaints.

My opinion, you are being punished and so is Dad. Dad is not in a prison. Call your lawyer and tell him what is going on. If you don't want to pay for that call your Ombudsman may be able to help.

All nursing homes and assisted living facilities here are shut down to visitors except in cases of end of life. Maybe it is response to CV19. Not you.

When did the NH tell you that you needed your visits to be supervised? Is this perhaps related to the Covid-19 virus?

Most US NHs are not allowing ANY visitors at this point, and those who are allowed must be screened beforehand.

I don’t know if they can legally do this. I am not disputing what you are telling us. I think it is sad that your dad suffered with a wound. I think you are a wonderful daughter to look out for your dad.

Here’s what I feel and I could be dead wrong so please correct me if I am. Facilities are short handed. Many are trying their best. There are always a few bad apples in any profession. Why? Because people are flawed. This does not excuse them. It simply explains the situation.

I am not judging you in any way but may I ask you something please? Please don’t get defensive or take this out of context because it is NOT an accusation, nor is it to make you feel guilty. Did you try to resolve the issue with the facility first?

Did you report the incident to authorities without bringing it up to the attention of the facility? In this case they may indeed be harboring resentment towards you.

Is it right to take personal action against you? No, but they now have a record of negligence and even though this incident occurred it is possible that they are upset about the report and they are targeting you.

I am sincerely sorry that your dad suffered from a wound and I hope that your dad is being treated well now. I hope that his wound issues were treated and that he has healed.

The elderly have tender skin and sores happen. It is unfortunate but not uncommon. The wounds are treatable. Of course, preventing wounds are the best thing but it isn’t always possible if there is a staff shortage.

Is it possible to speak to the social worker? Is she objective? Do you feel you should speak to the head nurse? Do you feel a need to speak to an elder care attorney? Has your father complained about his current care? What about other residents? Have you witnessed other incidents?

Best wishes to you and your dad.