My mother recently fell and broke her hip. Following surgery, we had to choose a skilled nursing center for her to complete rehabilitation before she could return home. We did look into the options presented to us by the hospital and had elected to go with Swift Creek Health Center at Templeton in Cary, North Carolina, because the reports provided to me by the hospital showed that they had a four out of five star rating. Perhaps these ratings are old but we definitely did not find the stay there to be a 4-star rating. Although the staff that my mother interacted with (aides, nurses, occupational and physical therapists) were great...timeliness was an issue. She shared with me that she often had to wait an hour for someone to respond to her call when she needed assistance getting to the bathroom for example. Also, mealtimes were quite erratic which for a diabetic can be problematic.
The true problem, however, came when insurance determined it was time for her to be discharged. The therapy staff and staff physician signed off saying that she was ready to go home and I had conversations with three separate staff members to arrange for her discharge on Saturday, 4/13/2024. I was told to arrive there between 10-11:30 am to pick her up and sign her discharge paperwork. Unfortunately, when I arrived at 10:30 am, the nursing staff had no notice that she was scheduled to be discharged and there was no paperwork ready for her. The nursing staff informed me that they were unable to prepare the paperwork themselves, that it comes from the administrative staff. She phoned someone in administration who suggested that it would be easier if my mother remained in their care until the following Monday, which would have resulted in my mother paying out of pocket for 2 days) so that they could wait to prepare her discharge papers on Monday.
This was not an acceptable solution to my mother and she requested to leave as scheduled. The nursing staff informed me that she could leave anytime she wanted but that without the discharge paperwork, she was unable to provide my mother (who is diabetic) with her medications AND that if we left without the discharge paperwork being signed, they would continue to bill my mother as if she were still a patient there.
In the end, my mother elected to leave as planned so Swift Creek refused to give her the medications she had already paid for and provided her with no arrangements for follow-up care. Beginning on Saturday, I have made daily calls to the nursing staff, the social worker, the business office, admissions, and administration...with only the option to leave a voicemail. NO ONE has returned any calls made by myself or my mother's primary care physician (who had been attempting to get the order for her follow-up home-based physical therapy).
These actions to me seem to shout that they are NOT responsive to the needs of their patients nor does administration seem to care about their patients or their well-being. It would also appear that they are perhaps committing fraudulent activities if they intend to bill someone who is NOT being cared for in their facility and who was SCHEDULED to be discharged and they dropped the ball. Do careful and extensive research before choosing a facility for your loved one. read more
