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My father lives in a nursing home. his roommate is an Autistic gentleman who is in there for Kidney & Bladder problems. He has no problem with dementia or confusion. He has a remarkable memory probably due to his autism. He told me of an experience he had in the dining room a few days ago at lunch. There was a lady sitting directly in front of him at another table. She was facing him. During lunch time he noticed that the lady had her eyes closed and hadn't touched her food and was slowly turning blue. He notified a dining room aide who just touched the lady on the shoulder and said " Ms. Jones you're not eating today" and just walked away. She never bent down to look in her face. The woman was sweating profusely as she was turning blue. As lunch progressed he alerted the staff about the ladys condition 4 times and nothing was done. they never walked over to her again until he went over and told them her face was in her food. He said 4 aides came over to check on the lady. At that time he told them they had better call 911 or she was going to die. It was to late she was already dead. This man does talk alot and I notice that they tend to ignore him or just say oh yeah and walk away. Due to his remarkable memory he knows the times he alerted them and the names of the people involved. He told me today that he mentioned her name to the charge nurse and she quietly told him that "we don't talk about that". I do know that the lady he named did die a few days ago. I also know that residents can come up with all kind of story's. But this man is factual to a fault. He is very clear headed. They have also moved up his discharge date and when he rings his bell they come immediately. (Thats almost unheard of in a nursing home) I wonder if I should say something to the family, the police, maybe the Company Headquarters.. I don't know. If it were my dad I'd want to know if his death could have been prevented by getting help at the first sign of distress.

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if the nursing home is in florida

http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/doea/report_abuse.php
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Since this man is due to be discharged soon and this is weighing on your mind and on your concerns for others at the facility, perhaps you could wait until he is discharged and you might want to report it to the appropriate state agency (check to see if there is an elder abuse hotiline). You can remain anonymous. You have enough details to initiate an investigation without revealing who you or your father is. I'm sure there are many others who have heard this man's story and perhaps, if the right agency starts asking questions others may speak and it can be determined if anything inappropriate took place. Since elderly are expected to die in nursing homes and unless someone brings concerns up, I wonder if there are situations like this that do occur. Many elderly are very sharp and they should always be listened to. At the worst if reported and unfounded, at least you know an agency looked into the situation and the nursing home was looked at and its on the record. and the nursing home should not mind if there was nothing done wrong.
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Wow...I don't know what to tell you. If you feel that strongly about it, contact someone that deals with these sorts of issues. My dad was in a nursing home and because he had a stroke and had a short vocabulary...he hollered a lot..."Boy Boy Boy!!!" The eventually put him at the end of the hall way and would ignore his yells. Then he became ill because they didn't catheterize him enough and he got a bladder infection and a pressure sores. We abruptly took him out of that nurse care facility and into another...the pressure sore caused more issues with gangrene and he was scheduled to have his foot removed, the night before he was to have his surgery he had a heart attack and died. I wrote to some authority of nursing homes, I can't remember the name because it was so long ago, but you can check with a social worker and they can direct you the right path. I know this happens more than we actually realize. So sad...I feel bad for the family. I never took my mom to a nursing home. When it was time for her to not be alone. I brought her home with me. You can read about my journey on my personal profile page. As tough as it was...I kept my promise to her. God Bless.
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