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My mother has been in a rehab facility for PT and has not had a shower or shampoo in 9 days! I inquire about this daily and the response is they will "look into it". The facility's policy is twice weekly. My mother wants a shower. She is alert and aware. Isn’t it a law? I live in NJ if the laws are according to state

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If it isn't done today, ask further up the command structure. Talking to the base level carers is being useless, and it may not be their decision anyway. And not their problem if the policy rules aren't being followed. Kick it upstairs.
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If you look at the Federal Law governing Long-term Care the answer to your question is found in F-Tag 242 & 248 it says:

F242 (Rev. 48; Issued: 06-12-09; Effective/Implementation Date: 06-12-09) §483.15(b) - Self-Determination and Participation The resident has the right to-- (1) Choose activities, schedules, and health care consistent with his or her interests, assessments, and plans of care; (2) Interact with members of the community both inside and outside the facility; and (3) Make choices about aspects of his or her life in the facility that are significant to the resident.

To further understand that I am also sending the the "Interpretive Guidelines" which is what surveyors use to understand and judge a situation, that says;

§483.15(b) Many types of choices are mentioned in this regulatory requirement. The first of these is choice over “activities.” It is an important right for a resident to have choices to participate in preferred activities, whether they are part of the formal activities program or self-directed. However, the regulation at §483.15(f) Activities, F248 covers both formal and self-directed activities.

For issues concerning choices over activities, use Tag F248. The second listed choice is “schedules.” Residents have the right to have a choice over their schedules, consistent with their interests, assessments and plans of care. Choice over “schedules” includes (but is not limited to) choices over the schedules that are important to the resident, such as daily waking, eating, bathing, and the time for going to bed at night. Residents have the right to choose health care schedules consistent with their interests and preferences, and the facility should gather this information in order to be proactive in assisting residents to fulfill their choices. For example, if a resident mentions that her therapy is scheduled at the time of her favorite television program, the facility should accommodate the resident to the extent that it can.

If the resident refuses a bath because he or she prefers a shower or a different bathing method such as in-bed bathing, prefers it at a different time of day or on a different day, does not feel well that day, is uneasy about the aide assigned to help or is worried about falling, the staff member should make the necessary adjustments realizing the resident is not refusing to be clean but refusing the bath under the circumstance provided. The facility staff should meet with the resident to make adjustments in the care plan to accommodate his or her preferences. 

I live and work in Missouri, here is what our State Law says concerning bathing of residents:

"Each resident shall be clean, dry and free of body and mouth odor that is offensive to others."

As an advocate I love this regulation! Many times facilities would tell me that they were only required to give two baths a week. I would tell them that if they could keep my client "clean, dry and free of body and mouth odor" with two baths a week that was fine. However, if they could not they would have to give them as many baths a week as it took to meet that goal." Some of my clients got baths 7 days a week!

Knowledge is power, you need to know the laws governing long-term care. If you know them, you can become a powerful advocate for your loved one! I don't know where you live, but I would look into the laws of your State and see what they say. If you need help finding them, contact your local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, they are experts in the law and can give you that information.

I hope this has helped answer your question!
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In my state, the person has to be showered(and weighed) within 24 hours of admission, unless they refuse. I believe that this is mandatory in most states. The weight is usually gotten by the bath aide during the shower and this is necessary to determine if the patient is losing weight. I would speak to the DON and tell her that you really don't want to file a complaint with the state, but......
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Go to the director of the facility and let her know! I would threaten a complaint.
I don't know what is wrong with society that these places are so neglectful. My mom got a stage 4 wound in one of these places and a UTI so bad that she had to be rushed to ER. I never sent her back there. What is wrong that NH and rehab places treat residents worse than prisoners in a prison in our society? And get paid heavily for it. People seem to be punished in these places for living too long and that is just wrong.
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Cbp711 Dec 2018
I certainly agree with you, my Mom was in a NH for only 3 months and the way the care for the aged in shameful. If you havent read "Being Mortal Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End" I highly recommend it.
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There's no state law requiring that a resident be "given a shower" every so many days. However, every facility has policies in place about bathing the residents, and there are state regulations about hygiene and cleanliness for the residents.

It is not necessary for anyone to take a shower everyday. It's only recently that people have become so germ phobic and are bathing all the time. Most people in the world did not have hot and cold running water in their homes until well into the 20th century. Many people in the world still do not have it.

A daily wash up at the sink would be sufficient for most residents of a nursing home, with an occasional full shower. It depends on how much the resident perspires in the bed, and whether they are incontinent or not.

I'm at RN, by the way.
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oldmamabear77 Dec 2018
Still, NINE days is ridiculous. We are not living 3 centuries ago.
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Ours was in a NH for 20 days following a medical emergency. I noticed that he wasn't getting showers. I asked the social worker their shower schedule, it was every 3 days. I asked the charge nurse why our family member didn't get his? She informed me that the patient refused. I don't think he did, he loves his showers. I told them take him anyway next time and to call if he tries to refuse again. Funny, he got every shower on his schedule after that.
They were most likely running behind on showering patients, and just marking the ones they didn't get to as non-compliant. It helps to be very vocal!
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I don't know if it's a law in that someone will get a ticket or a fine if your mom is not assisted with a shower but your mom, like all residents, has a right to humane treatment. She has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and that means being clean and being assisted with hygiene. My suggestion is to contact the Ombudsman which is a person appointed to investigate complaints. Every facility should have one. It doesn't sound like the shower is a priority to the staff. Go above the staff.
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YOU NEED NO LAW POSTED OR OTHERWISE TO MAKE SURE MOTHER IS BATHED AND PROPERLY CARED FOR.

CONTACT THESE SO CALLED "CARE" FACILITY PERSONNEL AND LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE COMING TO BATH YOUR MOTHER ALONG WITH A CAMERA CREW TO DOCUMENT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. LET THEM ALSO KNOW THAT IF YOU SEE, HEAR OR AM TOLD OF ANY BACKLASH REGARDING MOTHER THAT THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!

DR COPPERTINO
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YsLadyMN Dec 2018
Are you aware that responding in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is considered yelling?? I have noticed this pattern with you... if you're really a doctor, step up your professionalism please.
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I was surprised when my Husband was in rehab that the state law here in Illinois is twice a week for shower or bath. (I thought it was more but that was my naive thinking)
Talk to the Director and file a complaint with the State Health Department. There are inspectors that come in on routine basis for inspections and they will follow up on complaints. Most states also have an Ombudsman that you can contact.

Now it is possible that when the aids come in to shower her she says no she does not want a shower. If that is the case they can not force her. And keep in mind that the shower could be at any time of day. Me, I prefer a shower in the morning and if someone came to me at 1:00 in the afternoon and said it is time for your shower I would probably tell them it is not time and I did not want a shower. So you might want to ask at what time is her shower scheduled and if you can arrange a visit at about that time of day it might be helpful, you could encourage her if she seems reluctant.
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jacobsonbob Dec 2018
At least one time they took my mother at something like 12:30 AM (not a typo--just after midnight!) to get her shower. This is the same place that forgot to bring her dinner a few days ago--when I realized it wasn't coming, I got the kitchen to prepare her a PB&J sandwich. In general, she usually isn't hungry when they serve it (it's too early for her), but she can often be encouraged to eat a part of it if not rushed.
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I would think that a minimum would be weekly, every 7 days. Personally, I prefer every 3rd day. More often if incontinence is involved.
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