Elizabeth McCarthy
1/5
Here is my actual experience with this facility:
My husband was admitted for rehabilitation. The facility had him on a diet of 1 mg Ativan every 4 hours. Why? Because he was difficult. Taking 1 mg of Ativan every 4 hours and trying to participate in physical rehab is counter intuitive to improving in physical or any other rehab. Ativan is a highly addictive benzodiazpine and is ONLY supposed to be administered for a short-term, AMA recommendation is for one week or less. So, now they tell me he refuses physical rehab. No kidding!! I don't know of any human body that would be able to participate in rehab. so this now creates a person who just lays around. Perfect for them!! no problems with this difficult man anymore!!. Let's continue, he came into the facility as a pureed diet from a head trauma, he didn't like the pureed diet and refused to eat anthing but the pudding. Did they care, No. Did they send him for another swallow test to see if he still needed pureed food, No. They just took the uneaten food away meal after meal. Next... he had a scheduled follow-up with a nuerologist, they missed the appointment. When you call, you'll get the front desk, but when transferred it will just ring. No leaving a message, just ring. I counted the rings in one call, I hung up when I got to 145. So the family and I decided we needed to get him out of this place, we made a plan and I made the facility aware of this plan well in advance. Requesting that he had a wheelchair, meds, and discharge papers prepared for the date I would arrive. I arrived early and visited him. There he was in a size 3X diaper, hospital gown, laying in bed watching TV. He looked terrible! Thin, gaunt, long hair and unshaven. I wanted to take him right then and there but needed to wait for his son to fly in and help me because my husband was unable to fly and we had to drive him back to upstate NY. This trip would take at least 4 days. Fast forward, day of discharge, yes, they provided a wheelchair. The meds were terrible. He was on 8 mg of Ativan a day and they gave me just enough meds for the next 5 days. He had no seizure meds. Just said "we're out" like "oh well" Sudden withdraw from Ativan causes grand mall seizures. So here we are in a position that he will run out of Ativan and have to go through withdrawal that can cause a grand mall seizure and no seizure meds. Great!! When I got back to NY I was unable to fill the Ativan script because the monthly script had been filled. 8 pills a day for 31 days = 248 pills. they gave me 40, where were the other 208 pills. Got into a thing about that. Miraculously after my phone call our local pharmacy sent a text saying the script was available for filling. The facility got on the computer and released the rest of the script, which they intended to keep if I did not make such a fuss. I recently requested via signature required USPS all financial and medical records from date of admission to date of discharge and guess what? even though I see someone signed for the letter, it was never received. Another call, got transferred to medical record, no answer. The lady at the front desk clearly found me amusing when I called back to leave a message that I expected the records. Rude! I will continue to fight for his rights and mine that is a promise. Let me end this by saying this man has been out of there for 3 weeks and in that time that we have been rehabilitating him he is walking and able to climb stairs with minimal assistance, he is eating a regular diet, feeding, doing personal care, and toileting himself. He is aware and improving daily. I have one suggestion, ADVOCATE for your person!! Read and learn their rights and yours, speak up and fight for those rights. YOU as family, proxy, etc. have that right. DO NOT let yourself be intimidated by rude or dismissive staff. Be polite, but be firm! Show up, keep your eyes on your person and hold each and every individual, in the capacity they serve, accountable for their actions. God Bless you and yours as you go through.
