I wouldn't like dining with another resident who coughed a lot either. The reason is that I don't want to be in the vicinity of exudate from their lungs which then ends up in my food. I don't want to breathe it. Even if she's not contagious, this has a huge ick factor. I don't want to be exposed to a healthy person's blood, urine, feces or other bodily fluids either.
How does she cough? Into a tissue, which is then disposed of properly? Into her shoulder, which she may find difficult to do if she has mobility issues? Or COUGH COUGH COUGH into the general air, which has been deemed societally and medically inconsiderate for a long time?
What's chronic lung syndrome? Do pieces of lung get expelled when she coughs?
And if she is allowed to continue eating in the DR and coughing 5 times more than a normal person, if and when she does get a respiratory illness, she's 5 times more likely to spread it to others based on coughs per dinner.
People don't have the right to bring their physical illness into a dining area just because they have it and everyone should be understanding.
They do have the right if this facility accepted her and said nothing about her having to eat meals in her room or in another section of the dining room! In my parents AL, meals were served in 2 hour slots for breakfast lunch and dinner. If someone wanted to avoid someone else, they'd just eat at a different time. Respiratory illness is different.....all residents are asked to dine in their rooms in those cases.
Does this only happen at meals? If so, this is quite concerning. It would/could mean a swallow deficit and could result in swallowing into lungs and getting aspiration pneumonia.
Coughing at meals is a sign she may be having swallowing problems (dysphagia), even though you know she has lung problems I'd ask for a swallow study to rule that out.
What sort of "retirement home" is mother living in? Assisted Living? All residents are prescreened and need to be accepted into these facilities, which I assume is true for your mother as well. If the administration accepted her, the other residents cannot have her removed from the dining room for coughing. The management needs to address the residents concerns about your mother and that she's not sick or contagious, if that's what the gripe is all about. If it's about the noise factor from the coughing, the management will have to explain that they accepted mom as a resident and will not prohibit her from the dining room. If different hours are available for mealtimes, perhaps the residents who are bothered can choose to dine at another time than your mom is dining.
How does she cough? Into a tissue, which is then disposed of properly? Into her shoulder, which she may find difficult to do if she has mobility issues? Or COUGH COUGH COUGH into the general air, which has been deemed societally and medically inconsiderate for a long time?
What's chronic lung syndrome? Do pieces of lung get expelled when she coughs?
And if she is allowed to continue eating in the DR and coughing 5 times more than a normal person, if and when she does get a respiratory illness, she's 5 times more likely to spread it to others based on coughs per dinner.
People don't have the right to bring their physical illness into a dining area just because they have it and everyone should be understanding.
If so, this is quite concerning. It would/could mean a swallow deficit and could result in swallowing into lungs and getting aspiration pneumonia.