My LO was at the Goshen's Morse House. This long-term "care" provider may be a good option for you,…read moreif you think it is:
1. A good practice to assume ownership & provide "care" w/out, thoroughly reviewing resident files, medical/residential history &/or understand triggers, like near drowning as a child or nearly being abducted as a young adult), history concerns & issues, & continuing trend of overdosing on heavy, aggressive medications (including 3 anti-psychotics & 3 anti-depressants all at the same time)
2. Appropriate to medicate LO with '"boxed warning" drugs that the FDA warns against in the use of elderly & dementia patients as a means of "managing" them to assimilate &/or to reduce normal dementia behaviors (pacing, confusion, insecurity, etc) (these drugs have several risks, including an increased rate of death during treatment & increased cognitive decline).
3. OK to dismiss, for 3 wks, serious health issue (swelling in lower extremities - known symptom tied to risk of cardiac arrest & a direct side effect of anti-psych med(s))
4. Appropriate to send your LO to a psych ward w/out meeting admitting criteria for 8 days knowing that it would be mentally, emotionally, spiritually, & physically traumatizing.
5. Acceptable, following release from psych ward, to place LO on Hospice because LO was rendered to such a traumatized state that LO was unresponsive to them; so, concluded that LO would die w/in a week (even though, LO was NOT diagnosed as dying by a physician & LO was fully responsive w/in 15 minutes of key family member's arrival. It is the equivalent of allowing & helping someone to die when they were, in fact, not any where near death (as evidenced by the fact that they are still living & living well)!
6. Acceptable that your LO's teeth are not brushed on a daily basis (LO can & will brush teeth; just needs guidance) (health risks of not brushing - endocarditis, cardiovascular disease, & pneumonia).
7. Allow your loved one's toenails to grow out so long that they cut into their toes & cause your loved one pain (health risks - infection, fungus & other health risks).
8. Acceptable to not maintain a clean bedroom (allowing dust/dirt to build up on the floor when your loved one suffers from allergies).
9. Acceptable to medicate your LO to "stimulate" their appetite when the root of the issue is that your LO doesn't like the food (like soup that looked like boiled blood; yet, solution to medicate w/ another "boxed warning" drug not approved by the FDA in the use of elderly patients w/ dementia - "boxed warning" is to alert consumers about serious adverse reactions, hospitalization, life-threatening side effects &/or death).
10. On-going medication to solve for pain complaints & symptoms w/out diagnosis of root issue (per alz.org "Pain is under-recognized & under-treated among people with dementia, primarily because they can have difficulty communicating. Poorly managed pain can result in behavioral symptoms and lead to unnecessary use of psychotropic medications.")
11. Have an imbalanced diet; frequently feeding high sugar & high inflammatory foods to your loved one who is at risk for type 2 diabetes (per alz.org "Inadequate consumption or inappropriate food & fluid choices can contribute directly to a decline in a resident's health and well-being." - since dementia is a disease considered to be caused by inflammation, thus, why it is referred to as type 3 diabetes, preventative nutritional care is recommended for that & many other reasons).
12. Okay for the facility to threaten to restrict you from seeing your loved one because you call their attention the things that should be obvious care protocols & practices & have expressed concern for all of the above.
13. Appropriate for a male CNA to be heard 30 ft away forcibly speaking to your LO while your LO pleaded with him to stop.
Please thoroughly vet care; understand approach & philosophy of care,...ask, ask, & ask questions. As you consider facilities to care for your LO, a guide for long-term care facilities, may offer you insight on the types of things to look for as well as the type of questions to ask via Alzheimer's dot org:
LO is now safely in hands of another Community, on 50% fewer medications overall & 66% few anti‐depressants & anti-psych meds, & LO is thriving!
