Nursing Home & Assisted Living Centers - Know What to Expect

Are you currently considering a nursing home$10,000 a month. Thus, everything, and I do
stay for either yourself or a loved one? In eithermean EVERYTHING else, is of lesser importance.
case, you would expect to receive the best care,What makes this statement all the more
especially for the very expensive pricesoutrageous is that it may actually sound
nowadays, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, locating anaïve to some, in today's corporate
facility that provides genuine quality care may becontrolled world. "Of course it's about money,
tantamount to finding the proverbial needle in thewhat else could it be about?"
haystack. Know the truth about nursing home orIt should be mentioned the examples given above
assisted living facilities before you decide.are extreme and may not necessarily occur in all
I have been involved with health care for morenursing centers. However, the Centers for
than 15 years as a Combat Medic in the UnitedMedicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on
States Army, a Certified Nurse Assistant, PhysicalFebruary 5, 2008 named 4,037 nursing homes
Rehab Aide and Occupational Rehab Aide inwhose pressure sore and/or physical restraint
California and the suburbs of Illinois. My wife is arates it says have targeted them for
Registered Nurse with more than 11 years of"improvement". Thus, anyone who is considering a
experience, and like myself, the majority of thenursing home or assisted living facility stay, for
experience is in nursing home or assisted livingeither a loved one or themselves, should consider
centers.and understand the reality of these facilities and
1989 was the year I became employed in mythe possible measures that can be taken to
first nursing home. One of the many duties of apromote better care.
CNA, or certified nurse assistant, is to help theSo, what can you do if you believe extended
residents of the nursing home with their morningassisted living or nursing care is needed for you or
routine. While assisting a certain resident, I noticeda loved one? Here are some suggestions and
the sliding doors of her closet were broke andoptions you might want to consider.
one of them wouldn't open without forceful- If distance is not a major concern, you may be
tugging. After getting her clothes together, Iable to locate a decent facility via the Senior
opened a drawer for some socks and a fewHousing site. After choosing a place, if you have
roaches crawled out from the haphazardlythe means, research the facility. Find out what
bundled clothing. I later discovered most of theyou can about it before you visit it. Perhaps you
rooms in this particular facility were in the samecan check for recent complaints, or any history
appalling condition.of lawsuits, with the Better Business Bureau online.
Mysterious injuries to some of the mentallyIf this is not an option, arrange a visit and ask the
handicapped residents also created rumors ofresidents about the care, their rooms, the food,
abuse. Yet, no one seemed to know anythingetc.
about it. Through the Medicare and Medicaid- Notice if you can detect urine when you enter
programs, the federal government is suppose tothe facility. If there is no one in the immediate
conduct on-site inspections of nursing homesarea and the odor is very noticeable, we suggest
participating in Medicare and Medicaid and tothat you turn around and leave. It is a telltale sign
recommend sanctions against those homes thatof poor sanitation and or possible neglect of
are violating health and safety rules. Yet, thisbedridden patients.
particular facility, on several occasions, somehowMost assisted living centers are modeled
received a Five Star rating after "inspections".impressively to give a beautiful "Home-like"
I assumed I made a bad employment choice andappearance and most new residents agree it is
the next nursing center would be better. I wasmuch better than the sterile-looking hospital
wrong. Within three months of employment at aappearance of many nursing homes. However, do
different facility, a couple of senior residentskeep in mind; it is not necessarily an assurance of
confided that a certain nursing assistant wassuperior care. In other words, appearances can be
handling them roughly. Being the young newbie todeceiving.
the status quo, I hesitated to act. I was aware- Ask about the training background of the CNAs
the elderly could be quite fragile, so perhaps the(certified nursing assistants) or caregivers, they
manhandling they described was awill be assisting you or handling your loved one the
misunderstanding. Then I witnessed this samemajority of the time. Many assisted living centers
assistant "person" placing a soiled diaper onto thedo not require their caregivers to be certified
face of a resident several times in a teasingassistants, choosing to hire untrained or
manner. I had seen enough, I brought this to theinexperienced caregivers who are then asked to
Director of Nursing (D.O.N).attend an in-service or two.
I was not aware at the time however, that both- How many caregivers or CNAs are assigned to
the nurse of that shift and the D.O.N were botheach unit? How many nurses are there to a unit?
friends of the abusive assistant. Therefore, whenIs the ratio to patients or residents adequate for
a meeting was finally convened on the matterdependable care?
about a month later, you can probably imagineIf you must stay at a facility of questionable
what the outcome was. My heated defense ofquality, try to arrange any of the following:
the residents fell on deaf, dumb and blind, ears.- If possible, have a lawyer present when filling
The so-called nurse defended the abuser and theout the admission forms. Some may say it is an
D.O.N merely pointed a finger at this assistant andunnecessary waste of money, however, nursing
said, "You were wrong." and absolutely nothingfacilities abhor any possible legal action against
else followed, not even a written reprimand.them and a lawyer intimidates much like a
However, I became known as thewooden cross does when held up to vampires.
"trouble-maker" shortly after the meeting.- Arrange periodic unannounced visits from family
Fortunately, there was some poetic justice; theor friends. This serves more than one purpose.
abusive assistant was later fired for getting into aFirst, it provides witnesses to any neglect or
"fist-fight" in an elevator with another assistant.problems. Second, it helps keep the staff on their
This was a "Holy" facility in the suburbs of Illinois.toes regarding your care. Should any incidence of
A large man with documented psychologicalabuse occur, a quick internet search provides a
problems abused other residents at the lastlong list of nursing home abuse lawyers.
facility in which I was employed. Although there- If you are a visiting family member and your
were several staff complaints and he choked aloved one is in bed most of the time, check for
female caregiver at one point, his transfer to aany bedsores on the heels, hips, buttocks, back
more appropriate facility was continually delayedor elbows. It is your Right to thoroughly question
to maintain the profits of his stay. It thereforeany injuries and be certain they have been
seemed unconscionable to hear the, oddlyproperly documented and the doctor has been
high-strung, administrator of this same facility wasinformed.
rumored to be embezzling holiday funds that- If it is within your budget, you may choose to
were meant for the caregivers.hire a reliable private sitter to provide one-on-one
When I learned a new policy required completelyassistance or care within the facility. Many families
untrained caregivers to pass medication to theprefer this option as it provides not only constant
residents, I began to update my resume, andpersonal attention but companionship as well.
when I learned that there wouldn't be a nurse atFacility staff appreciates it for the relief it can
all for the night shift, I turned in my two weeksbring during a high census. As an experienced
notice. It was an obvious attempt to save moneyprivate sitter, I can attest that it is much more
by limiting or eliminating professional care. Thesepreferable to care for one patient than to juggle
facilities never mention to visiting family membersten or twelve.
that when the patient or resident census is low,- Another option that may save you money is to
the nursing assistance is often cut to savehire a private home sitter. Many patients obviously
money. This practice can lead to neglect, whichprefer this because it allows them to stay in their
tends to create new issues, such as bedsores forhome with a caregiver to assist them. A nurse will
the bedridden residents.often be required to make periodic visits as well
There was a certain focus prevalent among thefor any medication that must be administered.
many facilities in which both my wife and I wereThere are many agencies to assist you with this.
employed and apparently, nothing has changed.Although there are many negative stories about
They all claimed the well-being of the resident isnursing facility care, it does not mean you, or a
the primary concern; some even placedfamily member, will have the same negative
impressively framed statements or plaques onexperiences. Believe it or not, there are plenty of
the walls with their creeds of care. There was nosatisfied residents, or patients, who do not regret
fine print however, that stated the true primarytheir move into an assisted living or nursing home
concern above all else was Money. Making moneyand who have made new friends.
and saving money. A single resident brings in fiveSo, now that you have been given some
to eight thousand dollars a month and in "specialworst-case scenarios, here's hoping you are
care units" such as an Alzheimer's unit, it can beprepared for the worst but experience the best.