My parents are having a problem with the resident across the hall. Any suggestions?

But, folks, the "screamer" is always going to disturb SOMEONE. If it's not your parents it's someone else. There are few places in most communities that are not near SOME resident.

You have to be reasonable that lady have the right to live in her room just like your parents do.  Consider moving your parent or maybe you can knock on her door and visit her she might just need a friendly smile and someone to listen to her.

If your parents are private pay at a skilled nursing facility, you should simply go to the executive director and give notice that you are moving your parents out.
It sounds like they are, understandably, trying to put the yelling resident wherever she will get the least complaints. Don't let that be within loud earshot of your parents.

I can imagine how frustrating this is for you, and I can see why you feel it's unfair. I can also empathize with the facility's policy on not honoring your request to move someone else . . . .if the shoe were on the other foot and your loved ones were causing a ruckus, you would probably appreciate this policy more than you can in your current predicament. I do think you should take the admissions lady up on the offer to move your parents if the screaming is intolerable. It is really actually quite nice of them to offer this option to you and so much better than having them say that they can't help you as there is no other room available into which to move your parents. It's not ideal and it may not seem "fair" but it is a decent offer of a viable solution.

Jazzie6015 - I do know that nursing homes are different some are horrible & some, not many are really good. I wasn't saying all is peachy as you indicate. I am involved a lot so I do see things. That is why you pick your battles. I just mentioned the screamer my mom had & when I realized her condition we had sympathy for her & understood why she was loud. Sometimes finding out a little more information is helpful. We have to weigh different situations & not jump to conclusions immediately.

I would use some of these suggestions: Record the yelling and the duration of it, measure it on a decibel scale online, contact the ombudsman for the facility, and if none of that helps - tell the facility that if your parents have to move, it will be to a different facility. I’ve heard that non-stop yelling, there is no tuning it out. Good luck.

You are not being unreasonable. Your loved ones have the right to live in a secure, dignified environment free from unreasonable stressors such as the noise and disruption you describe.
Furthermore, the poor lady who is making the noise and disruption may be undertreated for anxiety and dementia symptoms. She too deserves to live in a secure, dignified environment and be adequately cared for.
Please consider contacting the Long Term Care Ombudsman office in your local county government to discuss your concern. You'd be helping your loved ones, and also bringing attention to the needs of the disruptive lady who has no family to advocate for her. Don't give up ... the situation is not acceptable, and the nursing facility should be working on a better solution. Good luck!

You should speak to the Ombudsman of the NH and state your issue.

Good for you for moving her! No one has to live with this going on,nor should they.

My Dad was in a NH until he passed as condition worsened...in four mos. one week prior the administrator asked me if I would like to move him to the Dementia ward...I refused mostly as I liked the room where he was and was aware after visiting daily,going around to the dementia ward, that there was a screamer who I was told had something like tourettes and really screamed loudly with outbursts whom I was told very calmly well its just his condition after being frightened to death this was an angry scream....my only memory of this was that my Dad was not being looked after..or he was too incapacitated or they needed to fill beds in the other area..all the above...……..I even suspected that the area wanted to send gus out..due to the shortage of staff,,even though Dad never used his call bell,never asked for anything......but I was there everyday watching which is my advice to all of you...……….I made my Dad smoothies everyday and took him food in the after. there was a grocery store next door..im glad I was able to do that with him having fresh fruit with yogurt in the blender..as one day I tasted the late delivery of cold food that I could never chew myself, as well as
one morning showing up intentionally at a different time one lady was feeding eight people with all their food cold...she was concentrating on one man...
don't these places know that smoothies with all fresh ingredients would be better that the cold hard food that is delivered by slow moving help.

You can request your parents be moved. When my mother was in the SNF before I mistakenly took her home, she had a roommate that yelled all day & all night. I asked my mother if she wanted to change rooms & she it’s ok ...she felt sorry for her...my mother has dementia & gets combative at times....she just had a scream fest when I put her on commode...she’s constipated & can’t go...she keeps playing the I have to go to the bathroom game...then I put her on ...then nothing...I think she don’t know anymore when she has to go...& to put her on 3 times in 3 hours...exhausting for me!!!& cursing me to hell & back..I need a long vacation for sure...well, just try to let nursing staff handle it..or you will get a bad reputation there & they will take it out on your parents..take my advice since I was a fussbudget too at the SNF

I would insist the Nurses move this disruptive Patient Who is tormenting Your Parents, and if they refuse tell the Nursing Staff and Management that You will ring in Your complaint to Your favourite local Radio Station. Management & Staff will not risk bad publicity.

I must concur that the only thing you can do is request that your parents be moved. My mom talks in her sleep and roommates can't put up with her. So they move. Once we finally lucked out in a rehab and she herself got moved to a private room -- the one that they usually save for the docs who are doing rehab. :) Not only was it private, but it was quite large and had a desk to which I could bring her sewing machine. Sewing is great therapy for her. She was recovering from a broken hip that time, so could still use her arms.

We have also been in the situation you describe, with a screamer next door. We had to just put up with him. White noise is nice, but only covers some noises.

Where I live all nursing homes look pretty much like hospitals and the only time I've seen doors are closed is when there is personal care being given (although sometimes for that they just draw a curtain), rarely when someone has visitors or when they close because of a fire drill. Since my mom moved into the NH she has been across the hall from a woman who vocalizes for hours at a time (it's not shouting though, I call it "singing") and the staff deal with this by temporarily moving her or moving her neighbours away from each other - if this woman is shouting at night she is obviously not sleeping so perhaps it would be possible for them to remove her to the lounge or some other common area where she is less likely to disturb anyone.

We had a very similar issue only the person screaming was her roommate. She was blind and I’m sure very frightened. They moved her into the room because it was furthest from the nurses station. They would her on an alarm pad and when she got up, they would ignore the alarm. Then my mother felt responsible for her-was she going to fall? Get hurt? She was constantly worrying and wasn’t sleeping. We talked to no and they said the same thing-couldn’t or wouldnt move her. We asked to have Mom moved and they never had another bed available. We have an ombudsman program through our State and I called her. Things got changed. This ombudsman program must be posted for all residents to see so they Can call for help. Believe me, no no wants the state to come in to “fix” problems. We had to resort to this because the roommate started screaming all the time and my mother was getting chest pains and that was the end of the game. Good luck

Yes. Tell them your parents fear for their safety. Sometimes that wording..."fear for their safety," forces them to address it differently.

Good luck.

Wow. That's a tough one. I am wondering why this lady was moved so many times but can't be moved now? I think you are probably right about the last time. My first inclination was to befriend the ladies family, then you said she doesn't have any. If your parents like their room, I would hate to see them move; plus, what prevents them from moving this lady again or another loud person being near-by. I think I would appeal to management frequently but concentrating on your parents Quality of Life; that they had been happy here and no longer have any peacefulness, cannot sleep, cannot relax, cannot hear their TV, etc. Talk about the "Noise" not the lady. Do it often and go to top Management. And, if they ever have family meetings, Always Go. And, when they have "Care Plan Meetings" always go. Ask them, "When is the next Family Meeting?", When is the next "Care Plan Meeting" and if they don't have one scheduled (it the law, they are supposed to do it) request one. Again, talk about the need for your parents to be able to rest and relax and hear the TV without noise, don't talk about the cause of the noise. In fact, if there are other sources of noise (like staff laughing, other TVs and radios, call lights, etc) talk about that / talk about the need for a quiet, peaceful, restful environment. I always went to care plan meetings. I always showed up with a list of goals for my Mother (printed out and passed out around the table). If the GOAL is peaceful, quiet rest, ask them what steps they will take to meet this goal and how they would evaluate the success of that effort? (Put that on your paper, too / Goals listed, and for each Goal blanks for steps, blanks for "Evaluation", blank to fill in time frame, etc). And, if you have to contact Corporate, point out that the lady has been moved many times, and that even if they can't tell you why (privacy) at least let Corporate know that it was done. They probably don't know anything about it. Good luck.
You could also add that you are "worried about the lady, not having family to advocate for her, for her to have the benefit of peaceful rest. She sounds like she's frightened, or agitated, or uncomfortable or upset. Poor thing." . . . and, maybe they can get her some help.

Like others have said this is how nursing homes are. You want to pick your battles & is this the one you really want to go with? My mother is in nursing home a lady across the hall would yell & scream. My mom would just ignore it & it becomes background noise don't focus on it. Then we discovered this is how the lady talked she wasn't screaming. She had medical issues. I was thankful my mom wasn't like that, put yourself in that families shoes. She passed away & its quieter but you feel for the family. Moms also had 3 different roomates & they were all different you never know what you will get. My mom is very easy going, but sometimes she gets upset & says no privacy & I agree with her but remind her it could be worse. Mom is 91 been there 1 1/2 years luckily still is mentally there but can't walk. It's hard to go through this with your parents, but focus on the positive & don't dwell on little things because that will eat at you. Pick your battles when it really matters. I wouldn't want to be a complainer on everything. As long as they are safe & taken care of. This is a hard job & we appreciate what they do. Good luck to you.

i feel your pain. Something similar happened to my mother in law. A woman was placed in her room who tried to take all her possessions, believing that they belonged to “her friend”. She dug through all her drawers and closets constantly, taking more of my MIL’s stuff. When we complained, we were told that the complainer is always the one who has to be moved. My MIL was paying a fortune for this place. We changed rooms and eventually moved her to a different facility

So sorry to say that disruptive residents are a fact of life in board & care, assisted living, and nursing homes. Having a good rapport and collaborative relationship with the administration helps in problem solving but the options everyone has are limited. In CA, the use of sedation is considered a form of restraint, which is against the law, although anti-anxiety and sleep medications can be prescribed. If the nursing care administration and physician are not actively trying to address this behavior as a symptom, then it's time to move your parents to a different room to resolve their immediate discomfort. Just know that new residents may bring their own set of new difficulties. Be aware that some elderly suffer what is known as "transfer trauma," an emotional and physical reaction to change that can impact their well-being. Do everything you can to try to make things as comfortable as possible and then keep an eye on them. There is so much about eldercare that falls short of our expectations.

Move your parents! Check out the room they will move to. If you dislike move them to another home. Easy said but it’s a solution

Unfortunately this is a reality in all NH. My Mom shared a room with a constant screamer. She passed after 2 months and what a relief it was to the whole floor. It is sad. Agree they need to be given some kind of relaxant. But can promise in most cases the resident does not realize their own disruption. Ear plugs are good but if you manage to move your parents you risk hearing the screamer anyway or they might be moved again and end up near your parents again. Sorry.

This is what I see as the problem: Although I believe in minimum medicating, this woman apparently should be on calming meds. Look at your States Resident Bill of rights. I believe it it will address that your parents should not have this disturbance going on and the nursing home should be resolving the issue with this woman and your parents should not have to move!! This is why I started Elderly Advocates in Ohio, we are going to help especially the ones that have no families, and go to action to stop the nursing home from passing the buck and making their problem yours!

My dad was a carrier! He sang all the time. Play music all night?
Ear plugs?

I don't think you're being unreasonable but you might be being unpractical. If (as you believe) the lady was moved far from the nurses station due to her disruptive call outs then the location might be a good location to minimize her impact. If the lady stays where she is, your parents might be better off elsewhere even considering the disruption of the move. I would ask to view the room your parents would occupy if they were moved and request some consideration that the loud lady would not be moved into their general area again.

You might want to review the contract for your parents care and see if there are any statements in there about the quality of the care environment. Is there a director of nursing or other administrator more involved in patient care than admissions to discuss this issue?

I imagine the NH moves her around because they know it is a problem, but the unfortunate fact is that this woman has to live somewhere and she is going to bother her neighbours where ever she goes.... keep complaining & go all the way up the ladder, be the squeaky wheel. In the meantime maybe you could try one of those white noise machines?

I can't seem to find how to edit, but this should have read that I was told that I could not request that the lady across the hall be moved.