My mother has moderate to severe ALZ and she was in a MC for 4 years but I had to move her to another MC because they raised rates 3 times in 12 months. We just moved her and the assistant director just told me they lock the residents out of their rooms from 9 am to 7 pm so that staff can monitor them more and so that they socialize and don’t isolate.
i was not told this during the tour or during our visits. Last MC there were no locks on doors and my mother did become pretty antisocial, choosing to stay in her room and mostly looking out her window or listening to music. Bit I also know that the staff there didn’t try to get her to participate and just left her in her room.
So I am not sure how I feel about this new MC. Has anyone had a similar experience with this issue of letting my mother isolate if she chooses versus pushing her to socialize?
Unfortunatly, sounds like you'll have to start looking elsewhere for memory care for your mother if this is not a good fit for her.
My step-mother is in MC, she is out for her room hours during the day as she likes to go in the general meeting room and color, she is not very social but does get out of her room.
I would talk to the admin and confirm this and make your decision from there.
The cons are that she is forced out of her room by 9 am. What if she's not feeling well and/or wants to sleep in? Or is sick .....MUST she socialize in the activity room then? Or if she wants to use her own bathroom instead of the public one.
It's actually easier for staff to let residents stay in their rooms all day, in reality, than it is to keep them in the activity room socializing together and being escorted to the bathroom constantly. The staff at your mom's MC has the welfare of residents in mind by making this rule which allows them evening time only to watch tv and have alone time.
Speak to the Executive Director if you have issues with their rules, but don't expect them to change. My mom's MC was pretty insistent about residents coming out of their rooms every day for long periods of time, but it wasn't a rule. They were not allowed to take meals in their rooms, however, unless they were sick or on hospice. That rule was unbreakable.
IMO Mom is paying big bucks to live there and this is restaining her. D**ned if I would want to be out in the Common area for 10 hrs. I like my peace and quiet.
Mom’s facility had seven daily activities to keep them engaged as well as a large TV showing movie and sports. The theory was to keep them interacting, not sitting and sleeping all day which is what Mom had been doing.
MC usually has a wide age range, not just elderly, residents no are fairly mobile and active. Keeping them in a general area makes it easier for the staff to keep track of them.
Maybe locking the doors helps keep wandering residents out too. I made a point of making sure Mom didn’t have anything valuable in her room in case another resident mistakenly took something.
In Florida, residents of an assisted living facility (of which memory care is a subset) have a bill of rights. Click on the link below to see them. I think you will find that they support a resident's individual preferences. In addition, a resident's room is THEIR HOME, for which they pay rent - and to lock them out for the benefit/ease of the staff is likely illegal as well.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0429/Sections/0429.28.html
I would talk with an elder law attorney immediately, and file a complaint with the state's agency that oversees assisted living facilities.
I suspect many statutes are being violated.
Although I might pursue filing a complaint, I wouldn't anticipate positive change under Florida's current administration regardless of what's on paper. The well-being of ordinary citizens doesn't seem to be high on the agenda.
I'd have more of an issue with that if my LO was mobile and still cognizant enough to make decisions about going in and out of their room. My mother's place had people of all levels, and the high-functioning ones were allowed to come and go to their rooms where they might take a nap or watch TV a bit. Every caregiver had four or five people to keep an eye on, so if one of them went off to their room for more than a half-hour or so, the caregiver would usually get them back out in the common room.
Socialization is important for dementia patients. I often wonder how my mother's dementia would have progressed had she not spent her first four years isolating herself at home with just my dad for company. She slept 18 hours a day, waking up only for meals and to watch a little TV in the evenings. At her MC, she didn't even take naps until the last year of her life. It was definitely better for her.
Not all dementia patients need group socialization. I haven’t liked groups my whole life and would hate to be forced into this situation.