My dad was just discharged from the hospital to a rehab ill equipped for him. The social worker withheld info from the center, did not tell them of his complicated needs - he has dementia, is on an insulin pump, and has multiple sclerosis. They do not have the staff to deal with his issues. We band-aided tonight, but how do we change rehabs? We want to transfer him asap!
So I'll rewrite my suggestions:
1. Contact the doctor who treats him for any of his conditions, or the doctor who treated him at the hospital if it was one of his regular doctors and not just the attending physician.
2. Explain the situation to his staff, ask for a facility recommendation, and a letter concurring that the change is necessary. This is to ensure that Medicare covers the stay at the next facility b/c of the switch.
This is what I was advised to do when I had to move my father; I had the letter, but Medicare never questioned the justification for moving.
3. JoAnn is correct about finding a new facility, but you could also contact the rest of your father's medical team to see what recommendations they might have, assuming that they're aware of facilities that treat his particular needs.
Select Specialty Hospitals are long term care hospitals, and treat various conditions while also weaning a patient toward being able to get therapy. My father was in one for long-term ventilator/trach weaning.
I don't know generally how much rehab they provide though; at the time my father was there, he physically wasn't up to doing much more rehab as he was still dealing with respiratory issues and the trach.
4. To file a complaint against the social worker, go straight to the top at the hospital: contact the administrator, and be sure to file the complaint in writing, asking that it be noted in the personnel records of the offending social worker.
I would be sure though by verifying (if you haven't already) with the current facility that they didn't receive adequate medical information, and raise that issue with the administrator.
5. You can also file a complaint with Medicare; it might be added to the list of items to review when it does its next inspection.
6. If the hospital is a for profit hospital, research to determine the name of the holding company or owner, and write them directly as well.
Make it clear that you would never return to that hospital.
Please keep up updated as to your progress; this sounds like a very unsettling and frightening situation for you and your father.
I had to stand over the person tasked with sending the paperwork from the facility we were leaving, they wouldn't get it done. So don't be surprised if you have to push them to get the paperwork sent.
It would have happened within 24 hours but, took 3 days because I was told they had done it and they hadn't done it. I ended up literally standing over the person to ensure that my dad was getting the best care available.
I would think that whichever doctor treats him for his diabetes is the one to call to (a) get correct instructions, and (b) confirm that he needs placement elsewhere.
I believe the best thing to do is to contact the facility dad is going to and ask them if they will accept the endocrinologist‘s orders. It’s not responsible for any of us to speculate regarding laws in your state or individual facility protocols. I’m so sorry for what your dad has been through. You’re an amazing advocate and I’ll pray for a good outcome.
Another valid option is to contact the office of the vacationing doctor. In my experience, doctors make arrangements of advice to their staff how to handle emergencies, including referrals to doctors with whom arrangement are made for emergency back up.
They also have answering services which can be more useful than many might think.
I've had to call in emergency situations to ask the service to locate the doctor, and it wasn't long before the doctor called me back directly to address the emergency issue.
Doctors probably have iPhones and can text an order, change, or quick response enabling the existing facility to make the change from an insulin pump to shots.
I'm surprised that a social worker, or one of the Admins didn't suggest this, but not all of them are good at addressing compromises.
So I'd call the doctor's answering service right now and ask them to contact him, and (a) either text a script, or (b) contact the DON at the existing facility ASAP to authorize (and confirm by text) the necessary change.
I hope this works out for you, quickly, and yes, I can guess how exhausted you are. I've gone through a few situations where I just held everything together long enough to get home and collapse.
:(
AlvaDeer makes a good point about the unsafe discharge. I'm wondering if that would be something that Medicare would grade negatively at the next review? Maybe you could drop some hints when you complain about the social worker?
Or just innocently ask if that complies with Medicare standards for discharging a diabetic on an insulin pump?
there are different kinds of insulin pumps out there, the staff are not familiar with all of them because there are too many to keep up with. Your best bet I think may be to get the product information (the make, model #, etc.,), and go online, to see if there is a printout with instructions. Perhaps you could ask the Social Worker to help printing up manufacturer's instruction
This educational information can be given to the staff to utilize. Also, the pump likely has a booklet, sometimes an instructional CD, that came with it and can be inserted into the computer to give in-service potentially using this as a tool to teach staff.
Unfortunately the competition of marketing various medical devices take precedence over the importance of continuity of care; it's unfortunate & stressful to have so many different types for everyone involved.
Most LTC/Rehab have a staff person (RN/LPN) designated as the "Staff Development Nurse" and they would be the 'go to' person responsible for ensuring this teaching (i.e., how to use the insulin pump) would be required for all licensed caretakers assigned to your Dad (they have all the staff 'sign off' that they've completed the inservice prior to caring for your father.
As long as they have the proper tools to learn from, the manufacturers try to make these devices user-friendly. Initially it's just seems so overwhelming when a staff nurse knows nothing (they just need to take a few deep breaths and know the information is out there; it just has to be found & accessible to everyone.
e.g., *print out / booklet with instructions, else a CD to watch in computer,
*perhaps there exists a youtube video to watch ?
*most all cell phones can access youtube
Staff Development RN/LPN makes it mandatory for all licensed staff to complete the inservice on this particular insulin pump before caring for him.
Many of the manufacturer's of medical devices have instructional videos, &/or a 1-800-# around the clock staff 24/hr day hotline to answer any questions. And to help customers troubleshoot if they get confused, or anxious.
The people ansering the 1-800 # are typically well trained and know exactly how to walk someone through it, one-step at a time.
Good luck to you Jenny. Were you able to get in touch with the vacationing doctor yet?
Did they send him to rehab for physical or occupational therapy for the MS? I haven't heard where they move to rehab for diabetes or dementia.