My father is 91 years old and lives 2 hours away from me. Recently, he fell and the AL called the rescue squad to take him to the hospital. My father has dementia and aphasia and is incapable of communication. The only other family in the area is my disabled sister, who lives in a group home. There Was no one in town that I could call to be there with him and I happened to be 2 states away at that time. What do others do in this situation? I called the ER to give them his history and asked for a call back after they evaluated him, to no avail. He was still wearing a neck brace from a previous fall where he had broken his neck and had 2 more weeks to go before it comes off. I specifically asked that the ER be in touch with his neurosurgeon before doing anything at all. However, when he was returned to AL the brace was gone . I can’t get any answers as to why it was removed and where it is. I have been in touch with the patient advocate at the local hospital to no avail. I’m at a loss. I can’t be there all the time to accompany him when an emergency comes up.
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You can call a medical supply company and have another neck brace sent to dad, I suppose. Or call the doctor who saw him for that issue originally for guidance. Trying to retrieve a lost collar at this point is more trouble than it's worth, I'd think.
In terms of Emergency Rooms, I find they're basically useless or wind up causing more problems than they cure. How is dad able to communicate with staff alone in the ER with dementia going on?
When my parents lived in AL, I had to be there physically to handle tons of issues just like this for them. People think we can drop a parent off in AL and that's that, but it's a fallacy. The POA must be involved or issues tend to get ignored bc there isn't sufficient medical attention in AL as there is in Skilled Nursing care.
You may have to reevaluate dad living in AL at this point and think about placing him in Skilled Nursing if he is going to require a higher level of care. Or hire a geriatric care manager to help him navigate the system if no family or friends can be there for him physically.
Best of luck to you.
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