If you are considering placing your loved one in Arleigh Burke, please read my comments which are…read moresolely based on my personal observation and experience with the staff of this facility and their treatment of my husband.
My husband became wheelchair-bound due to a fall at home. After months of home care, we determined it best if he had more wraparound services in a skilled nursing facility. So we placed him in Arleigh Burke. He entered the facility frail but healthy. Less than two months later, he was dead. Here is my story.
Transfers and Bathroom Hygiene. My husband was 98 and somewhat physically handicapped but cognizant. He had very limited mobility and needed to be transferred by two people in and out of bed to the wheelchair, and to the toilet. The staff complained to him and to me for needing the help of two people, although this was an expectation in a skilled nursing facility. The transfer problem was especially challenging for the toilet. He would ring the call button for the toilet and often wait a half hour or more for help. Other times, he would be left to sit on the toilet for an hour or more, even though he rang the call button multiple times for assistance to be put back in the wheelchair. In addition, he was not able to reach the lever to flush the toilet. Often I would visit and the toilet would be full. At one point, they decided that he should defecate in his bed rather than transfer him to the toilet. I put a stop to that, but near the end of his life, they started making him do that again.
Condom Catheter. He also needed a condom catheter. Although I learned how to arrange it myself at home, the facility said that it required a nurse to do this for him. More often than not, he would end up peeing in the bed because the condom was put on incorrectly. Many times, the staff would leave the urine bag in the room rather than flush the contents down the toilet and rinse the bag for reuse.
Staff Responsiveness. Once when I visited, I found him yelling for help because he was falling out of bed. Another visitor (not a staff member) and I got him back into bed. No staff member ever came despite the use of the call button.
I will also add that during times I was visiting, I heard many patients yelling for help, and no staff member was around. Once, I went to the nurse's station to tell them about a patient who was in distress and had been yelling for help for a while. Four senior staff listened to me and did nothing. When I later followed up, I was told that the person in distress was Mr. xxx and he was in hospice, as if that explained the lack of attention to him. The lack of empathy for patients was stunning to me.
Promises Unfulfilled. The facility documents state that they shower the patient twice per week. That did not happen. They state that a list of snacks and drinks is available at all times. That didn't happen. I ended up bringing some refreshments and had to ask a staff member to retrieve them for me, if one was available. You are not allowed to get them for yourself. He got physical therapy only about five times in two months. The meal options are not particularly healthy, and the menu repeats to the point of boredom.
His Death. One day when I visited, my husband was out of his room and about 5 feet from the nurse's medication station. When I saw him, I immediately knew that something was very wrong. Not only did he look grey, but he was coughing and wheezing and was obviously having trouble breathing. The nurse was right there and did nothing until I intervened. Turns out he had pneumonia and was not being treated for it. This was 3 days before he died.
Medication Costs. I started with a medication bill of over $1,700. They would submit the paperwork to Medicare, but not beyond that to supplemental insurance for some reason. When I asked them to submit it to Tricare for Life, the bill came down to about $400. When asked to explain the other items on the bill, they could not, so the bill became $0. Even the billing provider, OmniCare, could not explain the itemized bill when I called them. I wonder if other families just pay the bill without questioning it. With a monthly bill of $17,000 for room and board, paying more for medications than necessary does not seem wise.
The Environment. The atmosphere at Arleigh Burke is gloomy and depressing. It is not a happy place. There are few windows and little sunshine. There are few stimulating activities available to the patients. As a result, my husband, normally a good-natured, intelligent, and happy guy, became depressed.
Learn from My Experience. My husband served his country in uniform for 31 years. I placed him at Arleigh Burke because I believed he would be safer and better cared for than he could be at home. I wish I had known then what I know now. I cannot change the decision I made for my husband, but perhaps sharing our experience will help another family ask more questions, look more closely, and make a more informed decision.
