Does anybody ever have problems with nursing home staff falling asleep on the job at night?

I am also a nurse and want to say that this is not what good nursing care is about. However, instead of immediately contacting all the different agencies you should start right at the facility with the Director of Nursing asking for an immediate appointment or even talking to her/him at that time, the next person should be the Administrator of the faculty. The facility to should have a chance to investigate their internal problems. Then, proceed on with reporting to higher authorities. For protection of your mom and her health, do not return her to that facility!

Contact the Ombudsman. And rell the discharge department at the hospital that she will not return to that facility.

This is outrageous...Raise HExx...Ombdudsman, Local social services, your representative to congress, clergy, local newspaper, whomever...
Grace +Peace,
Bob

I am sure all of the readers here are so sorry to read this type of news. We all have loved ones who could face this similar abuse. Your life is chaotic now, but document and report and don't stop ....even up to the state Dept of Health and Human Services, Social Services, Area Association on Aging...etc. Do not stop until you can make Belleville's life living HExx!!

I'm also an RN (28 years night shift) and I agree with the previous answers. Anyone so lazy as to tell a patient "that's what the diaper is for" needs to be fired. Sleeping while on duty should warrant automatic firing.

I am a retired nursing home administrator and concur that some nursing homes are not good and some nurses have been caught sleeping at night, but this is not typical behavior. I would encourage you to report your story to the administrator and allow the facility to investigate. If the facility does not handle in a manner that you think is appropriate, then call the state office responsible for investigating complaints. (The local Ombudsman doesn't have the "teeth" to enforce, so I would only use them for minor issues.) You have the right to choose a more suitable facility and have the right to refuse to return to this one but be sure to tell the hospital discharge planner ASAP. Otherwise, the hospital will assume your mother is going to return to this facility.
The allegation that the staff's negligence caused your mother's readmission could be confirmed by discussing with the attending physician. It is also possible that your mother's condition is too fragile to know for sure. An attorney experienced in medical malpractice will have a clinical staff who can dig through the medical documentation and arrive at a conclusion as well, but this takes time and effort, and if there is no lasting harm to your mother, an attorney may not want to invest this time and effort due to little or no money to seek for the minimal "damages".
EDITORIAL COMMENT: It is my conclusion after 40+ years working in nursing homes that they are models of efficiency, not models of compassion, which would be OK if there were more compassionate workers to fill the positions needed. But society has done nothing to improve how we reward compassion (compassion is not seen as a marketable skill) and the economic rewards for working in a nursing home environment ensure that many who may make truly good nurses and aides will end up somewhere else. (Nursing homes rely on reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid for the majority of their revenue, and these programs are constantly imposing limitations and cuts.)

There is no excuse I'm a RN and they deserve to be fired and turned into the board of nursing for pt neglect.they are there to be awake and take care of the pt... They fall asleep they should be fired on the spot . How dare they put the pts at risk? What if a pt went into cardiac arrest and they were asleep or a pt fell ? oh nooo they had better not be doing any sleeping.....

Do not put up with this. No one on night shift should be sleeping. Do we sleep on day shift? Well night is no different. Take the advice here and report this facility. Check into an adult family care home for your mom. They are small homes, my moms has 6 residents. Putting my mom in this type of facility was the best decision we ever made. If you need more information about these types of home pm me and i would be happy to give you more information about them. No one should be encouraged to wet themselves, diaper is for accidents not convenience of staff!

I'm a nurse. I have worked night shift in 4 hospital settings. I have never been witness to my co-workers all sleeping and snoring on the job. Yes, I have worked with co-workers that would be on the lazy side. How do you know all these nurses are sleeping and snoring. There are usually camera's located near nursing stations and in hallways. I'm sorry if your Mom was mistreated, and of course the nurses should be reported if they are negligent. But please check your facts. We are over worked, understaffed and expected to pass medications within an hour of administration time or we get written up. Please don't generalize all nurses. Most of us do the best we can with VERY limited resources.

Also call the state Medicare to come see them turn them in ...