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Mom went to emergency room with bad urinary tract infection. Local hospital is rated poorly. No iv fluids four four days and nothing by mouth. Cold turkey stopping of meds for anxiety and depression. We want to transfer to a sister hospital in the downtown med center. They keep throwing up roadblocks. Her condition was deteriorating right before our eyes. The psychiatrist gave her a shot of b-12 and vitamin D and her lirazepam. She woke up and recognized my brother. But this is after days of telling me they couldn't do the iv, couldn't do anything about her antidepressants, and we should move her to a psychiatric hospital.

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Instead of moving her, motivate the current hospital by filing an online complaint with the Joint Commission on their website. Do it tonight and by tomorrow morning things will change dramatically.
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Look in the hospital directory to find the Patient Advocate, Ombudsman, or Patient Representative and, then call them and voice your concerns. They have the ability to make things happen quickly; including a transfer if that's what you want to do. If you can't find the title and number just call the switchboard and ask.
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I should also add; urinary tract infections in the elderly may cause dementia-like symptoms in the elderly. It is so common, you would think it would be the medical communities first thought but, it doesn't seem to the case for my FIL.
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Is she still in the hospital? Geriatric psych units will find a combination of meds that will work for her. Had she been having any behavior issues before the hospitalization that continued or worsened after going to he hospital? IV's are frequently yanked out by those with dementia, they do not know why they have it or what it is for. Hospitals do not like to use IV's on those with dementia for that reason. A geriatric psych hospital is a good thing, will get her behaviors stabalized.
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Lorazepam. Shevis part of a heart core valve replacement study in the Medical Center but we need an internest to take her case for the transfer to work. I have asked and they agree but there seems to be a break in communication between them and the other current doctors.
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Bad urinary tract infection can lead to sepsis.
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interesting, nothing was ever said about not using iv's for my dad for blood transfusions even though he did pull his out; all they ever talked about was putting in a port, but don't think that would have helped that, and he'd been diagnosed with dementia at that hospital but they'd never pulled his records from then, so on what are they basing that they want her moved to a psychiatric hospital?
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UTIs need antibiotics. Does she have a primary? Does he have privleges at this hospital? If not, have him call the attending and find out what is going on. If the other hospital is willing to take Mom I see no problem with the transfer but u will need to probably setup the transport. Call Medicare to see how u stand.
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Complain LOUDLY to said hospital where she's at.
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This is the problem with the whole hospitalist thing now; does your primary even have any authority once you're in the hospital; I know that when mom was in admitted by her surgeon her primary didn't seem to; later I learned he normally doesn't even go to the hospital to see patients but for some reason he did when she was in there but not officially but yet this whole uti thing became a real issue and that's not even what she was in there for but it was over her medication for it to keep her from getting one so it wasn't that she had one or had to be on iv meds for it
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