Our 90 year old step-dad has mod/adv Alzheimer's. He cannot convey needs, nor rem if/when he has…read moreeaten, bathed, changed clothes, toileted, etc. Using a call button or asking for assistance is impossible. He had catheter complications but had no awareness of what the tube/bag was for. After a 3-day hosp stay it was sugg that he go to this facility to regain strength & continue IV antibiotics.
A synopsis of SOME issues:
1. He was there 30 days, was sent to the ER 5 times due to blocked catheter, delirum, falls & infections. The only reason he was there was to monitor his urine output, so that blockages could immediately be addressed.
2. The hospital, during one of his trips, decided to install a suprapubic catheter. The hospital did surgery to install the cath w/o consulting us as his medical POA bc Skye Canyon failed to provide that info.
3. They consistently neglected to place the bag on the floor at night for proper gravity drainage, as witnessed after typical visiting hrs. This caused blockages and ER trips.
4. They were not feeding him. They brought food, but left him lying flat in bed, unable to even adjust himself to a sitting position. We told them multiple times to either sit him up in bed or place him in his wheelchair for his meals. He weighed 176 pounds when admitted. Hospital lab work after 3 wks showed signs of malnutrition, so they filled him full of Ensure to mask that, which caused diarrhea, with no toileting assist & another fall. He weighed 155 pounds at discharge. He lost 21 pounds in 30 days under their "care".
5. I asked once if they had bathed him because his hair looked greasy & he had a smell. No one could tell me when he was last bathed, & said "All he has to do is ask!".
6. After checking his bag one evening, I got 3 diff answers from staff re when the bag was last emptied b/c it had no urine in it. I again explained that if a blockage occurs, he goes into delirium & pulls the cath or falls. One of them again said "Oh, that's good to know". THAT is the point I lost it, slapped my own head & said "you've got to be f***ing kidding me! Why you do think he's here?".
7. We had a planned trip & were so worried about leaving him in their care, that we hired home health aides to sit with him WHILE in a nursing facility to keep an eye on his cath bag & prevent falls.
8. Each time a patient is sent to the ER, the room is packed up & all belongings are boxed. They lost multiple clothing items.
9. An ER Trip requires ambulance transport, one of which they marked as non-emergency, resulting in a $1200 bill for us, that we are still fighting, This was a trip where he had torn his suprapubic cath tube near his abdomen & it was "floating inside of him" & he had fallen, requiring surgery. He was able to tear or cut the tube at 1am while 15' from the nurses' station, & no one noticed commotion and it was deemed non-emergency? They then had the nerve to ask if we could provide the home aides again because it was so nice to have them keep an eye on him.
10. He has been in a memory care facility for 2 mos now, w/ home health on-call for any catheter issues. He has experienced ZERO ER trips or falls while there because the non-medical staff simply checks his catheter bag every 3 hours to alert of issues, preventing hospital trips.
11. When we wanted him moved, it was initially refused & we would be taking him against med advice. His ins would pay for 100 days, so it was obv they wanted to drain that entire benefit. After reminding them of the series of neglectful events, I had the paperwork within days.
I don't blame the staff for the lack of attention & care. I blame the owners of this facility. They care about money....not the patients. I have no doubt that if he had remained there the entire 100 days, he would not still be with us due to infection, a fall or malnutrition that would have been swept under the rug as just a 90 y/o who passed from natural causes.
