**Subject: Concerns Regarding the Care at Heritage Ridge** When my mother first moved to Heritage Ridge, I initially believed it would be a suitable environment for her, given her diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. However, over time, my perspective has changed significantly. Shortly after her admission, my mother began experiencing frequent falls--several severe enough to require an ambulance and a trip to the emergency room. She also began slurring her words, which we initially attributed to the progression of her disease. As both a nurse and Power of Attorney (POA), I requested to review her medication. To my surprise, I discovered that she was being administered Clonidine three times daily. We immediately confronted the prescribing physician, who informed us that someone from the facility had requested the medication on behalf of her POA. However, I had never authorized Clonidine, which is known for side effects such as sedation and fatigue. Since this incident, the doctor now contacts us directly for approval on any medication changes requested by the facility. I suspect that other residents may be in similar situations, but without regular family visits, it might be mistaken as a natural progression of their condition. I've observed other alarming situations. For example, a resident who used to walk around when my mother first arrived has now been confined to bed for months, though I cannot definitively prove a correlation to medication management. When medication orders are changed, the facility's Registered Nurse (RN) has repeatedly failed to implement them correctly. On one occasion, I noticed a significant deviation from the original order, and despite our intervention, the issue was minimized during a facility meeting as if it hadn't happened. These errors culminated in an episode for my mother, during which the RN threatened to transfer her to a Geriatric Mental Health facility in Columbus, Nebraska. Each time my mother has an episode, family members must drop everything, including work, to come to the facility to calm her down. Additionally, there have been other incidents involving poor oversight. My mother was placed on a heart monitor for several days, which was supposed to be removed and sent back on a Friday. However, when we arrived that evening, it had not been removed. When staff contacted the on-call nurse, they were told she was unavailable as she was "out eating." The nurse did not arrive to remove the monitor until 9:30 PM. Communication with management has also been challenging. It is difficult to reach those in charge, and even when leaving messages, responses are not always timely. While some staff members are truly wonderful, the overall culture does not encourage interaction with the residents. In fact, if staff spends extra time engaging with a resident or even just administering medication, the facility considers it "1:1 care" and increases the family's bill accordingly. I've personally witnessed staff members sleeping or using their cell phones instead of interacting with residents. On several occasions, staff members watched their preferred television shows rather than allowing residents to choose. There was a particularly troubling case where a resident in a wheelchair dropped her phone but didn't feel comfortable asking staff to retrieve it. Instead, she asked visitors to help her. One day, when no visitors were around, she tried to pick up the phone herself, fell out of her wheelchair, and broke her hip. Following the incident, she was removed from the facility. In another case, a resident managed to leave the secured facility without notice and was found wandering in Bellevue, Nebraska. When authorities tried to contact the facility, staff failed to answer the phone. Lastly, families are responsible for providing all toiletries, including toilet paper and incontinence supplies. Even with family assistance in doing the laundry, the facility consistently fails to return clothing to the correct residents. Thankfully, with the assistance of "A Place for Mom," we have found a new facility for my mother. The new care providers have assured us, "We will take care of her, not you," which brings a glimmer of hope at the end of what has been a very dark read more