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Mareva Asked January 2, 2024

Why lock resident of MC out of her room on weekends, because she is too much trouble in her room?

Does not seem right to me?

AlvaDeer Jan 3, 2024
I am afraid that no one will be able to give you good input with this little amount of information, Marvena.
Would you not consider discussing this with the facility itself, given that we are a whole world full of strangers from around the world?

Generally, and this is a general observation from a retired RN who worked in psych sometimes and with elders in general, the room is made off limits for a very good reason. Now this could be ANYTHING:
Hulda used to regularly flush her teeth (false, of course) down the toilet in her room. Irma clogged her toilet with paper and towels, and James threw all his linens off the bed and into the hall telling us that "they aren't mine". And that's just a few.
Some other reasons we used to close the rooms temporarily were that the person would come into the hall, visit and get some walking exercise rather than stay in bed all day.

So do ask.
Tell us what you find out, why don't you.
I would love to know their reasoning on this.

ChoppedLiver Jan 2, 2024
Who is telling you that the resident is locked out of her room? Is that your perspective, the resident's perspective, or the staff's excuse?

At my Mom's facility, they closed and locked the door of my Mom because she was not safe, alone in the room and they didn't want her to walk back into her room. They wanted her in the activity room, not isolated in her room.

However, my Mom interpreted it as she was not allowed in her room.

A different perspective: In my Mom's MC, they had a guy who would go into people's rooms and remove clothes out of the dresser drawers, go through closets, eat food that he found in their room, etc. (that was his dementia). If the door was unlocked, he would go in, resident in there or not. As a result, they encouraged my Mom out of her room and locked the door behind her to prevent him from coming in.
Wendsong Jan 7, 2024
Seems to me, they should have done something to prevent him from going into other rooms, not locked her out of her room.

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mdasse773 Jan 7, 2024
It really depends on her level. At first my mother could do as she pleased but now she would get into all kinds of mischief unsupervised and there is simply not enough staff to keep an eye on her if shes in her room. Also she became more social since they started locking her out during the day. She engages much more in activities even as her abilities have declined. At first i resisted the lock out because i thought she deserved the freedom to do what she wanted. But it would be dangerous if she fell or got hurt. She has fallen twice in the common areas and staff were right there to help her and make sure she was ok.

JoAnn29 Jan 3, 2024
They preferred to have my Mom in the common area to watch her. Maybe the woman tears her room apart? My mom used to take her clean clothes and throw them in the wash. What I did not like was she was allowed to nap on the couch in the common area. This area was seen as soon as you walked in the door. I asked that they take her back to her room to nap.

I would say there are less aides on weekends so they keep the residents together.

SueZ1250 Jan 7, 2024
My Dad is a huge fall risk, he forgets he needs assistance. They don't like him in his room by himself, even though there is an alarm on his wheelchair, it might not be heard behind his closed door. He also eats too much chocolate in there by himself and has had VERY messy accidents because of it (or so they think!) I don't think my Dad is safe alone anywhere, so I don't have a problem with it. Especially on the weekends, they seem to be short handed.

Beatty Jan 2, 2024
What do you mean by "too much trouble"?

Woulbethe resident be unsafe if left alone? Eg falls frequently?

Is there less staff on the weekend, therefore residents grouped together for supervision?
Bunnymomjulie Jan 9, 2024
That's what I think. They prefer them to be where they can see them. The rooms in my mother's MC don't lock, either.
MeDolly Jan 3, 2024
TT the Admin, ask the question to that person.

My step-mother just told my brother that she hadn't been in her room for 2 weeks, we all know that is not true. I would never believe a dementia patient, they say all kinds of untruths.

She is now a passive person, she is on meds for sundowners but otherwise is not a problem anymore. She used to go out into the main area and color she no longer does that, she sits in her room more as time goes by. They come and get her for lunch and special occasions.
DeniseB1 Jan 7, 2024
Hi,
My dad is in memory care with Sundowners. I’m curious what she’s taking for sundowner meds? My dad is a huge fall risk … he’s probably fallen 8-10 times in the past 9 months. His doctor is reluctant to prescribe meds that may make him more of a fall risk.
againx100 Jan 7, 2024
I would ask for clarification on what "too much trouble" means. She could be fiddling around doing god knows what. I could see them wanting most people in the common area so they don't get a bunch of surprises in resident's rooms?

Llamalover47 Jan 7, 2024
Mareva: Speak to the head of the MC facility. Imho, you've got to ask THEM why the resident is being locked out of her room on the weekends. We here on the forum cannot hazard a guess.
agingmom123 Jan 26, 2024
Residents are locked out of their rooms because the aides are too lazy to check on the residents in their rooms. It's easier for them to keep everyone in one common room - corralled up like animals so the aides don't have to do anything and can scroll on their phones all day watching tik toc videos.
strugglinson Jan 3, 2024
Say what? what does " too much trouble in her room" mean? this seems odd . Also, corroborate what she is reporting to you. Find out the MC facility's take on whats happening also.

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