My sister lives in a nursing home in NJ. Today we discovered several of the Christmas Gifts she purchased were stolen. What should she do?

kELLY, CALL THe NUMBER at this site http://www.nj.gov/ooie/ and I would notify the police department where the nurshing home is located. Chances are your sister isn't the first victim and the CNA's response is rather 'fishy'.

Joint Commission on Nursing Home Accreditation. I learned that term here.I only had to s ay it once, as in " please tell me why my next phone call and letter shouldn't be to the joint commission". I said it very quietly.

Thanks for your replies...may I ask ....what is a "Joint Commission"??? New to all this nursing home lingo. My sister likes the facility...but I am looking into others nearby.

Are you looking into a new facility? I would report any falsification of records to the Joint Commission.

Oh Kelly, I'm so sorry. It makes the heart sink.

Has your sister otherwise been happy and comfortable in this place? Is there any possibility of looking at alternatives? I'm hoping for you that this theft will be sorted out properly, but just in case it isn't, or the several incidents together have destroyed her faith in their care...

Hello and thanks for your replies. I am sure the items are gone. My sister has no memory impairment...she Is there because she can no longer walk. Her mind is sharp as a tack . She was a former comptroller and has kept records of every purchase (old habit I guess LOL) She recently had a wound that needed it's dressing changes two times a day. When the weekend nurse came in to check on it...he asked her when the last time it was change because it looked bad. She told him the last time it was changed was the previous Wednesday. He went back and checked her records and apparently the other nurses had falsified and marked that the dressing had indeed been changed twice a day. Thank God she has her wits about her and immediately reported it to the director. Scary thing is ...if they did this do her....what about the poor patients who don't know where/who they are. I called the NH today and left a message for the director. I stated that if a thorough investigation is not done and my sister reimbursed for her loss...I am going to the Police on Monday. Waiting to hear back from him now.

Agree with all that Country Mouse said. After you determine that the items are truly missing, when you talk to the facility administrator, make sure you tell them that you reported this first to the CA and what her response was. I can't believe that that would be what protocol is for a NH.

I wouldn't have taken it to a CNA, I'd have taken it to the manager or director.

As this happened just today, call the boss of the NH tomorrow morning. Give the NH until Monday morning to come up with a satisfactory response to this classic example of why so many people are scared of nursing homes. If they don't, you go to the police. I'm so sorry that such a nasty thing has happened.

[As an aside, you are completely confident that the items really have gone missing, are you? Does your sister have any memory impairment? Just a point to check.]