This review is about what happened to my Grandma on the last day of her life here. You decide…read morewhether it's the facility or the system and whether you'd want an experience like this for you and your loved ones.
Caveat: I live out of town. I came to see her for two days in week 3 of her visit and then for another two days in week 4. This incident happened on the last day of my visit.
Caveat: Up to this point, everyone was very nice and professional. The one star reflects only my experience on the last day.
My 94-year-old Grandma was transferred here to heal a broken hip. The doctor said Grandma's heart, vitals and everything looks good, the hip is healing, and they can start PT soon. By the end of week 2, Grandma was completely bedridden, barely eating, and growing weaker and weaker. When I came to visit in week 3, Grandma was a shell of a person. Her mind was still there and she could reminisce about the old country. But she was in constant pain and talked about wanting to die. She did not want to rehab, screamed through the PT sessions, talked about how she wanted to die in peace. The PoA wanted rehab.
By week 4, the first day I visited for a few hours, Grandma was barely speaking and has had almost no food for many days. She could barely reminisce, all she talked about was wanting to die. Doctors said her hip was healing and her vitals looked good.
The second day I came to visit on week 4, a half hour into our visit, she started to have horrible chest pains. She started screaming. I found the nurse and asked for a doctor. I was told a doctor is "on his way", and I shouldn't worry, they are about to give her pain meds (oxy). Grandma was screaming, asking to go to the hospital. I ran around, bugging and bugging staff about this supposed doctor and if he isn't running over, then I'm calling 911. They said don't worry about it, she's having an anxiety attack, they're asking PoA for permission to give her anti-anxiety meds. Grandma was screaming and screaming. I told the staff I'm calling 911. They said not to call and give time for the meds to work.
I called the PoA and left a pleading voicemail, no answer. Almost an hour goes by, no reply. We can't do anything without the PoA was the answer from staff. Wait to call the hospital, they said.
Eventually, the POA got in touch with the staff and told them not to take Grandma to the hospital. The doctor's coming, the staff told me. Grandma was screaming and screaming. I told the staff that I'm calling 911. They said no, they won't release her since the PoA explicitly said no. They checked her "vitals" and while the blood pressure was a little low, she's fine. A doctor was on his way.
The PoA was not a medical professional and did not think it was an emergency. I asked staff for some kind of help, but I could tell the PoA told them to ignore me. They avoided eye contact and walked the other way when they saw me. Grandma screamed and screamed and screamed. I asked again if I can call 911, staff said they can't overrule the POA.
Grandma was screaming and screaming. She says she wants to die, the pain was too much, she said she needed to go to the hospital. I ran out and relayed her message to the staff (Grandma barely speaks English). One said, "the patient says she wants to go?" "Yes, yes" I say. Another one leaned over and whispered. "We can't overrule the POA, we're doing everything we can" was the response. I begged the staff for more pain relief, for the doctor. "He's on his way". I pressed for more information; they finally revealed he's not in the facility. But should be arriving shortly. When? He's not texting back.
Could I please call 911? I desperately made another call to the PoA. No, you can't call.
They administered another dose of oxy for her "extreme pain". Grandma was screaming and screaming. Said feels like she's being dissected. I begged for help from anyone who steps into the room, they shrugged. Then someone closed the door, so they couldn't hear her as much. I helplessly cried next to her, stroked her arm, endless adjusted pillows, telling her how much I loved her, and listened to her agonizing cries for almost FOUR!!! hours. HELPLESS!!!
Finally and thankfully, she passes out in a way you can tell she's not waking up. A few minutes later, the doctor (nurse practitioner) came in, apologized for being so late, and commented how Grandma was generally in good standing. He promised to do a KUB and left without touching her. I left eventually. Grandma did not have a pulse when the staff came to check on her overnight.
When I called the facility the next morning and asked why staff didn't help her, they said they did everything they could. They couldn't override the PoA.
So here you go, folks. If you want a facility that will follow the PoA's instructions with diligence, while ignoring the patient's pleas for help and basic human decency, you found it.
P.S. Yes, I should've called 911 regardless of what the staff or the PoA told me. Call 911!!
