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You may have broken some rules of which you are not aware.
Make amends by contacting the reporter, if it is not too late, squelch the publication.
If it is too late, ask reporter to print a retraction of the story, or any identification of the facility, the patient's name, etc. The reporter should have known this was just not done. If it was a complaint, you are in trouble, hence the existence of the Nursing Home Ombudsman's office in your county.
Then, meet with the NH Administrator to apologize, follow the Ombudsman's advice.

You may have to move your Mom, I just don't know. But the Ombudsman can answer if you can see your Mom or not. Call them-they answer the phone.
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Aha! Your got an answer in ten minutes! Hope it was helpful to you.
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If there is a complaint, contacting the media is always as a last resort, but a powerful way to be heard. You skipped a few steps? Or, it was not a complaint? You are merely innocent of following standard procedures for the privacy of elders in facilities?

Don't worry, everyone makes mistakes, if it was a mistake. You will see your Mom soon. Apologize, apologize, apologize.

Can you tell us more?
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The only reason I got involved in this nursing home story was a lot of things were happening to my mother. They let her fall two times and also she was in emergency room several times. There were so many incidents. If this story didn't help me thinking it would help another family.
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I highly doubt the nursing home could legally stop you from seeing your Mom because you spoke to a reporter. If anyone is at fault here it's the reporter, not you.
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Ok now if I do come visit my mother. They want let me go into her room. I would have to be in a activity room, and have supervisor watching me at all times. I will fight this with every thing I know. No one will stop me from seeing my mother
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Get a lawyer.

Meanwhile, do visit your mother in an activity room.
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SueB do you really think the nh LET her fall? Does she have a 24 hour caregiver in addition to living in the facility? The staff cannot be with every resident every minute. Several trips to ER? What were those about? Look at mom's contract. I bet they have a rule about unauthorised photos, most places do. Pics are not permitted for publication without first obtaining a release from every resident in case they may be included in the picture. This rule is to protect the resident's privacy.
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Sueb49,
Your concerns for your mother are understandable.
Do you really want to keep this fight going, upsetting your Mom while she is sick?
Tell us what you want to see happen now? How can we help you?
Let it all out.....
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Gladimhere you sound like you work in the nursing field. Thanks my mother my fight.
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Sendhelp thanks but think I have this.
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You do what you have to do. I had trouble with a facility. I called agency after agency and went to their caregiver support group and complained about the facility injuring my Mother then putting me in a bad light. It went on and on. Looking back, It is a good tactic when you are up against an egotistical facility that see no wrong in what they do and if you catch them in slop or speak up, they turn on you. You are not the dangerous one that needs supervised visits. Something was wrong, they did not listen to you, it is a bad facility that tried to squash you when you did something to get help to what was an outrageous situation. My son got Mother out of her facility after they cut my hours to 4 hours per day, 5 days a week. He filled in hours until the move. Mother needed someone with her round the clock. She wasn't safe in her reduced capacity a result of their negligence. The attorney would have dragged this on forever. After we moved Mother he wrote that we should come in to his office to discuss the matter. What a pleasure telling him she was moved. The system had their hooks into me and my family. My brother saw the light and started to be supportive. Mother is in a very nice facility 5 minutes from our home. Did you read the Resident Handbook? Today I was comparing the 2 facilities handbooks. The bad facility had all kinds of loopholes where they give themselves the right to take over for the POA of Health Care on their whim. The new facility has no wording like that. Do you have POA of Health Care? Is your family supportive? Read through any contracts and policy statements. Look at other facilities. They might be outraged by the TV station so much that they will be glad to see you go. They might not fight you. That was my sons take on our situation. My Mother is much improved and is happy about her move. I have no problem in the new facility. They are professional and strive to do the best job they can. My son knows some of the staff here too from when he went to school and from living in the community. It is good advice seen in Aging Care answers to visit facilities and ask residents of their family how they like the place and to ask around nearby churches, businesses, etc. You and your Mother deserve better.
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I realize that this fight isn't about whether there really were bad things going on in the nursing home. It is about whether the nh can prevent you from seeing your mother privately in her room. If you want to fight this, get a lawyer.

But just as a point of interest, old people fall. It is what we do. Sigh. Wish it weren't so. My husband often fell if I was standing next to him or if he were on the other side of the room. Once he fell in a hospital room with me and a nurse present. A fall can happen in 10 seconds. Expecting a nursing home to prevent every fall is totally unrealistic. I know that isn't the point here, but it is worth noting.
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Daughterlu thanks for opinion means a lot I am my mother's child.
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Sue, no I am not even close to working in the nursing field. I am a white collar professional, not even in the medical field. I left my career five and a half years ago, cared for my mom with AD for four of those years 24/7 with little help. My mom fell on occasion even if I was right there with her. She is now in a facility and still has falls, more frequent, and she has a 24/7 caregiver as well. Falling, unfortunately, in many cases if part of normal aging, and more so if dementia is involved.
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DaughterLu, perhaps the first facility was a Medicaid facility. Thus the reason for the POA language. This is fairly standard language in Medicaid facilities. They want to be paid when mom runs out of funds.
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This scenario does set my teeth on edge. The NH will piously claim that they are protecting residents' privacy. The fact that it also protects the company's privacy - i.e. prevents the public from seeing what they're up to - is neither here nor there, they would have us believe.

Gagging clauses in all their forms should make our antennae twitch. Cui bono? *Whom* are they there to protect?
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I do work in the nursing field. Sure you can take pictures if after you have asked for and received permission from the NH management as this is a violation of the other residences privacy. Before any resident has their picture taken legally you are supposed to get the written permission of whoever you are taking pictures of, even if the resident was in the background of a picture. You may have also exposed a resident's private property as well.  You broke their policy.
I don't think they can refuse to let you see your mother as they've already made arrangements for you to do so.
I agree with the posters above in that it will be awkward now for your mom, who has to be there 24/7, and you get to go home and get out of there.
I would be humble, apologize and start making arrangements for your mother to be transferred to a different NH.
Policy is policy whether we agree with it or not. I understand we may not like them but we still have to follow them. 
And that darned reporter - I am sure he/she knew there may be an issue but wanted the story printed anyway. The reporter had no regard for your mom or you. 
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Did you meet with the facility to develop a plan regarding your mom's condition and care before going to the paper? I agree with others here who point out that seniors can fall often. It's difficult to prevent them from falling. Once, I stood right beside my LO and saw her only a few feet away let go of her walker and fall backwards. She would have hit the floor if I hadn't have stepped behind her and caught her. But, a staff member cannot be with a resident only feet away all the time. I'd work on a plan like getting a bed alarm to alert staff if she gets up in the night. Or if she's in a wheelchair, getting a safety belt that alarms if she gets up. There are measures you can take to alert staff, but, falls are still unavoidable in most cases.

And unless your mom is on Hospice, the facility will need to get your mom medical care if she needs it. Therefore, residents end up in the ER. What's wrong with that? I don't understand what a better alternative is when a resident needs medical care.

It's unfortunate that it came to this. I'd try to make amends. If other facilities know of the news story, hmm.....they may not want to invite that controversy into their facility. So, I wonder if you could find a new one that easily now.
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Gladimhere, my Mother has not run out of funds. She was not in a medicaid facility nor is she in one now. Thanks for the clue. I want to look in to this. Did the bad facility have the right to include this language in their resident handbook and then treat it like it was a contract. Mother was in Personal Care. I would not sign their Personal care contract as they did not allow me to hold it in my hands let alone take it home to read it on my own overnight and take it to an attorney if I so desired. For two days they badgered me to sign it while they held the contract in their hands and "told" me what it meant. I didn't sign it. It was bizarre.
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Ok everyone this story hasn't been printed yet. And yes the reporter should have got permission from the NH and yes that's probably the big issue. But this place don't do anything with the residents they sit in the hallway all day. I actually went to Medicare website and they almost have a book of complaints.So this might be a long journey for me, but I willing to run the race
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