My mother has had a really rough last 3 months.She has had 2 strokes leaving her with extreme right side weakness.The last stroke was 6 weeks ago during the time my father was on hospice following a dx of stage 4 lung cancer.She was placed in rehab after discharge where she experienced several falls.She was transferred back to the hospital after being found unresponsive in her w/c in her room,CTs did not show any further stroke,however after this episode she has been pretty confused.She was moved back to the rehab after being discharged,spent a few days at the rehab and took another fall and was sent back to the hospital where she was treated for double pneumonia and had a PICC line placed for IV antibiotics and sent back to the rehab where she was placed in a room halfway down the hall from the nurses station.I had called the rehab and talked with the nurse and told her about the confusion nd her trying to get up while in the hospital and my brother spoke with them face to face.She had not been there 2 hours until we were receiving a call telling us that she was found on the floor in her room after slipping out of her wc. The nurse stated that they had pushed her in there after lunch(WHAT!! by herself).They then did nothing to prevent another fall in my eyes.She remained in the same room,they have no alarm system to alert staff to a pt. attempting to get up(magnetic alarm would be good). We have ordered one ourselves in an attempt to keep her safe,the staff have been told countless times to call us if they need us for anything including sitting with her.They have not once called us to come sit with her and they generally do not allow family to stay so we would not know unless they called.I said all this to say this that vey same day at 11:26 pm the nurse called me to let me know that my mom had been found in the bathroom on the floor of the shower.She had scrapes and bruises and could not lift her right arm.A xray the next morning showed she had fractured her right shoulder.So what are ya'lls opinion about possible liability on their part?
My FIL is very determined. They have alarms on him, his seat, his bathroom door, motion detectors on the floor and so on. He continues to try to do things himself, because he forgets that he cannot do them on his own. The alarms are a warning, a preventative, but they don't stop anything from happening. The staff where my FIL is so apologetic, but, we understand that UNLESS THEY CAN STRAP HIM IN -- he is going to continue to try and continue to fall. And it is against the law to restrain him in a wheelchair. The staff is wonderful and we understand that it is not their negligence, it is just the way it is. Determined and forgetful make a bad combination. Good Luck!
That was exactly my point...rehabs are definitely not all the same...some care...some don't...and the only way to know the difference is through bitter or pleasant experience...depending on the place.
On the other hand, I agree with those who think you can do better as far as this rehab facility. You need 24 hour access to your Mother and that should be encouraged by any facility.
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