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Elder Neglect
A. I would like to share a situation with you, and like most of the other stories you show-it's to inform others so this does not happen to someone they love. Background: In August my family made the difficult decision to place my grandmother in an assisted living facility. The primary reason-she had begun to fall and our biggest fear was that we would find her on her floor injured (or worse) without someone to help her in a timely manner. After reviewing our options locally we chose [name] assisted living. We met with the staff and reviewed and signed her care plan/contract. We specifically requested night time checks. This was a standard practice in their information packet. The night shift was to check in on her every two hours. The Friday before her death my Aunt spent the night with my grandmother. She reminded the staff that the nurse requested they observe my grandmother putting on her night ostomy bag - it was thought that her unsteady hand may not be putting it on correctly and causing infection. My Aunt recalled that she thought it odd that the weekend staff never asked if they still wanted the night checks while she was spending the night - they just didn’t come in. At 7:00 a.m., on January 25, my grandmother was discovered on her bathroom floor dead. I took the heartbreaking call from my Aunt, and my husband and I headed for [the facility]. On our arrival the [town] police were there completing a standard investigation. When they were through they called us in, the mortuary personnel were there also. The detective said she was placed in the body bag, she had been on the floor partially clothed and I agreed it was better to see her covered. Imagine my shock when I noticed that her bed was still made and her nightclothes folded at the bottom of her bed. She was still wearing the same shirt she had on Sunday. MY GRANDMOTHER HAD NEVER MADE IT TO BED. According to the police report, the last person to see her was at 6:30 p.m.on Sunday evening. The detective said it appeared she had been trying to put on her night ostomy bag. She was undressed from the waist down. Where was the staff at 8:00 p.m. to check her compression stockings? Where was the staff who had been instructed by the nurse to observe her put her ostomy bag on? Where was the staff who was supposed to help her into bed (as stated in her contract)? Where was the staff who should have been checking on her every two hours.... The coroner said she probably died of a heart attack - probably - we will never know for sure. Maybe if they had shown up at bedtime they would have noticed she was not feeling well and contacted help. The whole reason for moving her out of her own home, and for what? I left a message with the CEO of the corporation and received a call back from the district manager. He told me the facility is not required to record night checks. Had I known that their would be no form of gate keeping and ensuring procedures were being followed I can assure you [the facility] would not have been this family's choice. A. was a hardworking and loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. In life she carried herself with dignity, and in death lost it all. We as a family have to live with this fact for the rest of our lives. Senior Services is investigating the death. I suspect an outcome of neglect, but in the big picture what does this really change? When this family really needed an apology and evidence that this would never happen to someone else, we instead got fleeting looks of guilt and whispers of staff and residents not being told the truth. We need to know she did not die in vain. - The R. Family |