The long term facility my mom is in looks real nice on the outside but on the inside they are under staffed. Most of the staff don't know what know what they r doing & don't like what they r doing. Moms insurance pays for her to stay there &its over $8,000 a month, thats crazy. Since my mom has been there, 3yrs., 1.)she has fallen 3xs & no Dr. was called to exam her & no X-rays were taken 2.)she has had on going UTIs since she's been there. She has been in isolation with sum of them, ? 3.)she developed a big, very deep bedsore that a wound specialist took care of 2xs away & it took 6 months to heal. 4.)they have lost many prescriptions that i have given them up at station #1, I made copies of them b4 i gave to them, then i gave them my copies & most of the employees r so ignorant 5.)it has taken me 2 yrs to get facility Dr. to give me referral for mom to go to a neurologist, a urologist, & an oncologist. Dr.would always say,'but y??' to everything i said i wanted to do to help mom. I fired him, which also took like a yr. to do. 6.)Mom needs hearing aids & has been tested over a yr. ago & her ins. will pay for them.I have never seen such stupid people! Where r her hearing aids? 7.)Mom has cateracts in both of her eyes. her eyes burn all the x & she can hardly see. I took her to my eye Dr. who set her up with a surgeon to remove cataracts. Then I'm told mom has to see their eye Dr. a year goes by, moms eyes burning everyday,wow + it burns almost every day for 3 yrs. when she urinates too! Y?? Hasn't my mom suffered enough?? I AM SOOO ANGRY that ALL these EVIL things have happened to my Mom, my HERO, SHE is PRICELESS!!! 3 yrs ago she goes to answer the D@MN door,something we all have done 1,0000s xs but my Mom has never walked since??? Has to b orthopedic Dr who did her hip in the ER, what else could it b, then dementia, she's loosing her mind?? & she cries to daily that she is, & then she burns like razor blades down there & her eyes too + she now can't see. Their eye Dr. (how STUPID is this?) They gave Mom 2 prs. of eyeglasses while she still has cataracts! I can go on & on & on but Im exhausted! This is ALL WRONG!! I NEED sum advice on what I can do?! Can I SUE THEM for elderly neglect, abuse?
Have you met with the director to address your concerns? I would question why it would take so long for her to get medical care and referrals for specialists when needed. You might also contact the Ombudsman for assistance. Perhaps, they can help you advocate for your mom. Or, you could relocate her to another facility.
I would try to separate the shortcomings of the facility from the ailments that your mom has. Seniors often get the type of ailments that you describe. It's how the facility has responded to them, that would get my attention.
Does your mom have some condition that does not make her a good candidate for eye surgery? Does mom have an Advanced Directive that says she does not want the treatments for cancer at this stage of her life? Seniors can fall anywhere, even in their own home and even if watched very carefully. I'd try to sit down and go over all the conditions, responses, etc and determine what is improper. But, it may be easier to move her to another facility, though, you may encounter issues at a new place too.
I agree it would be as well to bullet point the discrete problems.
Momis, do just check what toiletries and cleansers they're using on her.
I will caution you, if you tell them her eyes burn when she pees, they may not take you seriously.
Cataracts don't hurt.
The bed sore and the loss of prescriptions seem the most serious complaints to me.
I'm sorry to read that this place has been so... rubbish. The trouble is, many of the catalogue of errors are by themselves small details, the kind of thing that it is tricky to get right all the time. Especially if you're not that keen on your work, you're underpaid, there's someone else you can blame and your shift ends in half an hour, of course...
I can only sympathise.
Actually. Have you tried ringing her insurer and checking that their understanding of what they're paying for matches your experience of what your mother's getting? Also, they may have a list of possible alternatives for you.
Everything you had mentioned, all this could happen if she was living with a relative, it's all part of aging. Would you sue a relative for neglect? Abuse?
Is Mom on long-term-care insurance, or is she on Medicaid? Usually Medicaid offers a lot of medical care for items that others have to pay out of pocket, like eye issues and hearing aids. My own Mom was constantly paying for new eye glasses and new hearing aids.
When my Mom went into long-term-care, the cost was $12,000 per month, out of pocket, as Medicare doesn't pay for such care, only Medicaid or if someone has long-term-insurance which is usually limited to a couple years of care.
So for your own peace of mind, look around for another long-term-care facility for your Mom.