My brother was left in the building when fire alarm went off. Everyone else was taken out of building, he was left in bed. Too much trouble to move him do to health condition. Was not notified of his very bad health and the need for doctors care.
Hospitals and nursing homes are set up so that when the fire alarm goes off in the facility for ANY REASON, it automatically notifies the Fire Department. Sometimes the fire alarm malfunctions and activates for no reason at all. Even so, the nursing staff still has to follow the facility’s regulations regarding FIRE, and the Fire Department still has to respond even though they KNOW that the fire alarm malfunctioned.
When the fire alarm activates repeatedly because of a malfunction such as a short in the wiring or the weather outside is triggering the fire alarm to activate, the Fire Department will respond. However, if the facility administrator is aware that the fire alarm is malfunctioning, then he/she might decide that the facility staff do not need to remove all of the patients/residents from the building each time the fire alarm malfunctions.
Another reason for not moving a patient/resident from the facility each time the fire alarm malfunctions is that the bed that they are in is TOO BIG to fit through the door of either the room or the hallway door. If that is the case, someone has to use a Hoyer lift to transfer the patient/resident to their wheelchair or to a stretcher to remove them from the facility. Again, if the administrator is aware that the fire alarm is malfunctioning, then he/she might decide that the facility staff do not need to transfer the patient/resident via the Hoyer lift into his/her wheelchair or onto a stretcher when the fire alarm malfunctions.
While the fire alarm issue is a concern, I think that you need to concentrate on the BIGGER PROBLEM: “he had an infection due to sores on his butt from setting in wheelchair”. I am glad that you “called for an ambulance to take my brother to hospital where he was kepted due to his health condition. His is now in a rehab home.”
Open wounds on the buttocks due to pressure from sitting in a wheelchair can be life threatening. Christopher Reeve (AKA "Superman") died because a pressure ulcer sore on his buttocks became infected and the infection spread throughout his body and antibiotics were unable to cure the infection.
RIGHT NOW, you need to focus on your brother’s future and decide whether he is going to return to that facility after his stay at the rehab home is completed or whether you are going to move him to a different nursing home.
Thank you for your reply. I am doing just what you suggested. I am looking for a new nursing home. My brother is the most important thing at this time.
Joe, you mention that you were yourself temporarily a resident of this NH back in September. What happened?
I am wondering how long you have been your younger brother's primary caregiver, what the reasons for that are, and what weight you are giving to your own needs when it comes to making decisions about both of your lives.
So starting from here, which we have to like it or not, wouldn't it be better to focus for now on your brother's future care plan once he is ready for discharge from rehab; and leave formal complaints or reports about the NH for later, when everything is clearer?
How old are you and your brother? What medical problems does your brother have that requires him to be in a nursing home?
Did the fire alarm activate because of a FIRE DRILL or due to an ACTUAL FIRE or WHAT??
Sometimes when a FIRE DRILL is held, the Administrator and Director of Nursing will decide that those residents who are bedridden &/or who might be too ill to take outside (due to increment weather) will stay in their rooms during the FIRE DRILL.
Some facilities DO NOT REMOVE the residents unless they are in immediate danger from the fire. Instead, the staff close all of the FIRE DOORS and make sure that there are no residents in the same location as the fire; THEN they have the Fire Department remove the residents. I
You mention a Second Concern about "not notified of his very bad health and the need for doctors care."; How is that related to your brother being left in the building when fire alarm went off?
FIRST, you need to talk to the Director of Nursing and the Administrator of the nursing home about your concerns: A) brother was left in the building when fire alarm went off; and B) not notified of his very bad health and the need for doctors care. Are you listed on your brother's HIPPA form as being able to receive information about his medication conditions? If not, then your brother needs to add your name to his HIPPA form at the nursing home. Are you D-POA and/or Medical POA for your brother?
I am 72 and my brother is 70. I was at the home 2 weeks (Sept. 21) before this happened. I made doctors appointment for him because I thought he needed a wellness check up. He has to be assisted to take a shower or cleaned if he has an accident in his pants. I went back to take him to doctors Oct. 5. He was unable to get up out of bed. I have been there once or twice every month since April. Have taken him out to take care of legal matters. When I went to pick him up he was still in bed at 1:00 pm undressed. I was told they were behind in helping him get ready to go out due to fire alarm going off(it was not a fire drill) They had to take the residents out of building not once, but twice. He was not taken out because it would have been to much trouble for them to do that. How do you pick and choose when it comes to safty? Then I find the staff wearing gloves and mask to help get him dressed. One staff member ask another staff member " shouldn't they be wearing gloves if we were going to be around him." The smell was horrible. I was told they thought he had an infection due to sores on his butt from setting in wheelchair. Why wasn't I told of this problem? I am his D-POA and Medical POA. They have called me when he has fallen getting out of bed to wheel chair/ walker getting to bathroom. They had given him showers before I would come to pick him up to go out. Did they not see this problem? I had talked to the director of the nursing home two weeks before this nothing was said.
I called for an ambulance to take my brother to hospital where he was kepted due to his health condition. His is now in a rehab home.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'was not notified of his very bad health'. Unless you are absolutely sure that things are very very wrong, it would be best to have a meeting with the Director of Nursing first. Do your best to make it about questions and concerns, not complaints. Ombudsman positions have different rules in different places (eg where I am they only look at bad decisions made by public servants), but it is almost universal that you have to have raised the problem first with the person causing it and their boss within the system they work in. You should tick that box first.
When the fire alarm activates repeatedly because of a malfunction such as a short in the wiring or the weather outside is triggering the fire alarm to activate, the Fire Department will respond. However, if the facility administrator is aware that the fire alarm is malfunctioning, then he/she might decide that the facility staff do not need to remove all of the patients/residents from the building each time the fire alarm malfunctions.
Another reason for not moving a patient/resident from the facility each time the fire alarm malfunctions is that the bed that they are in is TOO BIG to fit through the door of either the room or the hallway door. If that is the case, someone has to use a Hoyer lift to transfer the patient/resident to their wheelchair or to a stretcher to remove them from the facility. Again, if the administrator is aware that the fire alarm is malfunctioning, then he/she might decide that the facility staff do not need to transfer the patient/resident via the Hoyer lift into his/her wheelchair or onto a stretcher when the fire alarm malfunctions.
While the fire alarm issue is a concern, I think that you need to concentrate on the BIGGER PROBLEM: “he had an infection due to sores on his butt from setting in wheelchair”. I am glad that you “called for an ambulance to take my brother to hospital where he was kepted due to his health condition. His is now in a rehab home.”
Open wounds on the buttocks due to pressure from sitting in a wheelchair can be life threatening. Christopher Reeve (AKA "Superman") died because a pressure ulcer sore on his buttocks became infected and the infection spread throughout his body and antibiotics were unable to cure the infection.
RIGHT NOW, you need to focus on your brother’s future and decide whether he is going to return to that facility after his stay at the rehab home is completed or whether you are going to move him to a different nursing home.
I am wondering how long you have been your younger brother's primary caregiver, what the reasons for that are, and what weight you are giving to your own needs when it comes to making decisions about both of your lives.
So starting from here, which we have to like it or not, wouldn't it be better to focus for now on your brother's future care plan once he is ready for discharge from rehab; and leave formal complaints or reports about the NH for later, when everything is clearer?
Did the fire alarm activate because of a FIRE DRILL or due to an ACTUAL FIRE or WHAT??
Sometimes when a FIRE DRILL is held, the Administrator and Director of Nursing will decide that those residents who are bedridden &/or who might be too ill to take outside (due to increment weather) will stay in their rooms during the FIRE DRILL.
Some facilities DO NOT REMOVE the residents unless they are in immediate danger from the fire. Instead, the staff close all of the FIRE DOORS and make sure that there are no residents in the same location as the fire; THEN they have the Fire Department remove the residents. I
You mention a Second Concern about "not notified of his very bad health and the need for doctors care."; How is that related to your brother being left in the building when fire alarm went off?
FIRST, you need to talk to the Director of Nursing and the Administrator of the nursing home about your concerns: A) brother was left in the building when fire alarm went off; and B) not notified of his very bad health and the need for doctors care. Are you listed on your brother's HIPPA form as being able to receive information about his medication conditions? If not, then your brother needs to add your name to his HIPPA form at the nursing home. Are you D-POA and/or Medical POA for your brother?
I called for an ambulance to take my brother to hospital where he was kepted due to his health condition. His is now in a rehab home.