I showed up to my mom’s nursing home unannounced 2 weeks ago found a picc line had been left in for a whole 7 days after not being used. It was completely black. A stage two bedsore covered in bruises and human waste. She suffered a fall out of bed because it was not flush against the wall due to an AC that did not work which caused her to puncture her left lung and break her hand. She never received care so now she cannot open 3 fingers on her left hand. She also believes she broke her back because she’s now numb from the waist down. Her heart, lungs and stomach were full of water. She was drowning. The oxygen machine she was hooked up to was 2 months behind for inspection. I found that they blocked my phone number on her cellphone so I couldn’t call and check on her. I don’t drive, so it was very hard to see her as she is an hour and a half away. I called the police, they said they couldn’t do anything. I asked for a medical evaluation, they agreed. It took from 2pm until 430am to actually get them to call the ambulance. I have video evidence of everything. We sent her to the hospital, who sent her to the nursing home in the first place, I explained the situation to the ER and tried to show video evidence. They were not interested. My mom told them she was getting physically abused and that they were punching her. The ER doctor assured us she would not have to go back there. They removed 12ml of fluid from her lungs and 3 days after, they said she was ready for discharge and to be sent back to where she came from. We did not agree, she still needed an X-ray and they promised a hand specialist from day one. She never got either. I was able to fight them for another 7 days, but yesterday they forced her into a nursing home against her will. I got a call at 4am this morning from my mom panicked because her oxygen ran out and she didn’t feel good. I called the facility concerned and I was hung up on. I called back for a supervisor and left a message. I called back a third time, but hung up because my mom called me. I spoke to her and the nurse and was told she was given Xanax and the oxygen tank ran out. I was there by 8 am and spent all day trying to talk to everybody about the plan, especially because she needed an X-ray before any PT, which they knew and still they tried to put her in a wheelchair and move her around. I had paperwork I needed a notary for and was told the day before she would help me. They said they wouldn’t do it because of the situation. So, around 1pm today my son fell asleep, I checked on her she was sleeping well and looked normal. I left her a note and went outside for a few phone calls. I went back up to my mom’s room and two nurses were inside with the door closed changing her. I waited like 7 minutes and walked is as they were walking out my mother was turning blue. She was twitching everywhere, her eyes were rolling back and she wasn’t breathing. I asked what happened they said they didn’t know. I said check the oxygen tank, it was out again. I found out they just gave her another Xanax. It took like 20 minutes for her to stop twitching and air to get back inside her body. I asked them to call an ambulance, they asked my mom if she wanted to go nut she was not coherent at that time. She said she didn’t want to so they tried to get me not to send her. I requested it anyway. They took my mom to a different hospital closer to home and admitted her immediately. Her heart rate was dangerously low and she was severely dehydrated with a punctured lung, pneumonia and severe infection. How do I make sure she doesn’t go through this again? Home care was supposed to be the option, but I found out the first hospital she went to for the evaluation and the nursing home she was abused at are partners. They send a lot of patients there and I believe they were purposely trying to stop my mom from being seen by a doctor that would actually address her problems. I really don’t know what to do. I tried calling the news, nobody called me back. Any suggestions would help.
I see that you are referring to my post about my SIL’s mammogram.
Unfortunately, portals didn’t exist back then.
I certainly wish they had existed, so that my SIL wouldn’t have gone through such a tragic experience.
Have you any update for us on your dire situation?
I am so sorry that you are experiencing this situation. It’s heartbreaking to read of these tragic accounts.
ITRR suggested that you seek an attorney. I’m in favor of this. Doctors, hospitals and facilities are sued all the time.
Are cases resolved fairly? Yeah, sometimes they are.
My SIL went for her very first mammogram at age 40. She wasn’t notified by the hospital that she had a malignant mass.
Her entire world was turned upside down. By the time she discovered the mass when showering, she had stage four cancer.
She ended up having to have aggressive cancer treatments, a bone marrow transplant, plus a double mastectomy. She also chose to have reconstructive surgery.
She and my brother ended up divorcing. They had two young children at the time. She could have died leaving her young children without a mother.
My SIL sued the hospital and won
well over a million dollars.
She had a great attorney and solid facts to back up her case.
I have a friend who was a prosecutor for years. He became tired of working in the criminal justice field.
He switched over to working as a malpractice attorney for doctors and hospitals.
My friend is paid extremely well to protect their reputations and assets. There are many lawsuits filed against doctors and hospitals. He stays quite busy.
I truly hope that you will be able to get to the bottom of what is going on and prove your case.
I agree with JoAnn that your mom needs to see a wound care specialist to treat her bedsores.
My mom had a pressure sore that a wound care nurse was treating. Unfortunately, mom’s sore was further down and not clearly visible to anyone.
Sadly, my mother didn’t inform me or her doctor about the sore until it became painful. They can be difficult to treat.
Your mom has so many things going on and this situation is a tragedy for you and your mother. Best wishes to you and your mom.
Nope. Not going to fly. Not at all. As Igloo so correctly said, the sad truth is that there's simply nothing in it in terms of money once we are over 60.
The hospital at the VERY WORST will get dinged by JCAHO for an early re-admit. That along with bedsores and restrained patients is all JCAHO cares about.
Anyone thinking to do a lawsuit today would be danged lucky to get an attorney to take it given the most they can get is 250,000, definitely not worth it to fight a hospital or a doctor.
One can rant and rave and threaten, but all to naught as it's a joke to hospital.
Oh, and don't forget that "arbitration" agreement.
JoAnn is correct. Problem is the DRG methods. Hospital only makes money by getting you out early.
With anyone this ill there is no suit for anything.
Right at the get go much on the face of the story from our OP doesn't make sense. 12 mls of fluid drawn off? That isn't anything. Almost not measureable. 30 mls is a shotglass and THAT is nothing. So there isn't a fluid problem whatever other problems there are, and it sounds as though this lady is very ill indeed. She is likely in need of Hospice at this point. A hospital will not keep in a patient they cannot help at all.
As to the accusations that hospitals and rehabs and nursing homes are all working in concert. Yes, indeed they are. Include hospice in that, as well. That's the way it is in western medicine.
We can threaten all we like. All involved know who holds the power here.
Once recovery got capped (likely joint Dem/Repub agreement as with all things big money) at 250,000 I am afraid that threat became no more than a giggle to the big guys and their attorneys.
Tell this hospital Mom needs Skilled Nursing not rehab. She has too many health problem to deal with. You may want to ask if she would be better off on Hospice. Sounds to me her body may be shutting down.
And that bedsore needs to be looked at by a Woundcare Nurse. I would determine where it came from. Ask to look at admitting records to the Rehab. Is it noted thatva sore was present or there was redness in the area? If so, its the hospitals fault. If not its the Rehabs fault. Report this to the Ombudsman.
You do not have to send Mom where suggested. You can find ur own Nursing facility.
Wishing you peace.
In your profile you state your Mom has dementia/ALZ. If this is the case, and you are getting some of your information from her directly, it may not be accurate. This is how it is for people with dementia.
Who is her PoA? You wrote, "I had paperwork i needed a notary for I was told the day before she would help me they said they wouldn’t do it it was POA because of the situation..." If your Mom has dementia it is too late for her to legally assign anyone. You will need to pursue guardianship through the courts or allow a judge to assign a legal guardian for her.
I'm so sorry for the suffering your Mom is experiencing. It's horrific. I hope you get the answers you need and deserve, and an outcome that protects your Mom and works in her best interests. May you receive peace in your heart.
Your statement about an aid who doesn't work with her causing a puncture to her lung makes little sense in any way. A puncture into the lung requires a fairly long knife or other sharp object.
You say that your mother had fluid on heart, lungs and abdomen. This is indicative of congestive heart failure. There is little to be done for a failing heart pump other than diuretics to remove fluids, but you then say that 12 mls of fluid were removed from the lungs. In all truth this is almost NO FLUID at all. It is less than a tablespoon of fluid. It is miniscule and almost not measurable.
I am thinking that because you cannot be with your mother due to inability to drive that you are completely misunderstanding much of what you are hearing. That is not to negate at all that I suspect your mother is exceptionally ill.
I recognize that you must be very upset and with a very ill mom, but quite honestly, without any coherence to your writing, without capitalization and punctuation of some minimal enough amount to make a readable statement, I am at a loss what to tell you.
I can only suggest that you ask to speak to Social Workers and that you suggest that your mother, ill as she is will require SNF (skilled nursing facility) placement.
Do try to speak with a doctor and try to give us a clear DIAGNOSIS and PROGNOSIS (the chances of mom healing over what period of time). Your mother may be requiring Hospice care at some point soon if her underlying heart failure cannot be addressed.
I wish you nothing but the best and am sorry at my failure in being able to make out much of what you are trying to tell us. Your mom is very young to be in such dire condition; I am certain she is very ill and you must be feeling exceptionally helpless at this time.