Melissa Troche's experience is very much what I we...

Melissa Troche's experience is very much what I went through with my mother. Once she was removed from the second floor to the fourth, it was a movement to a worse hell. She was moved because her "room mate did not get along with her", (my mother did not speak nor could she move from her bed) and the other version was that she was deemed a short-term resident. I was never able to get a straight answer When being informed via phone about the transfer, I requested that they wait for my brother and that she be oriented by a Spanish-speaking nurse.. She was just transferred and when my brother reached, she was literally hoarse from trying to call for water. No water pitcher, no working call-button, and she was, it seems, simply ignored. On the second floor, she was across from the nurses' counter and at least was in view. In this other part of hell, she was about five rooms away from the nurses' station, she was wheeled to the eating area for breakfast and left there for lunch and dinner along with others who could not walk . It was an unbearable site seeing these old and fragile seniors bobbing their heads left, right, front, back for hours sitting in wheel chairs. The reason: they were considered bed-fall risks. As with my mother, they were not. They could not even turn in their beds, but making them comfortable would have required work on the part of the nurses that they just don't have. Also, when calling to check up on her status, no matter what time I called, the phone just rang for over 30 - 40 minutes and many times more. At one time the staff member, sounding exhausted, indicated that she was in charge of all patients in the dining area which included feeding, and also the reception counter.

By the time I got there after a four day delay due the NY snow storm, my mother was so ill that she had to be taken to emergency. She was deemed dehydrated, had urinary track infection, kidney mal function, 400 + sugar level, stool back-up and other very serious problems. After the hospital stay, she was placed in another nursing facility where she received much better care, but never fully recovered.

In terms of trying to reach supervisors and social workers, I faced the same situation as described by Melissa. Once the social workers were changed, the new ones didn't seem to know much about the case. When my brother made attempts to complain, he was given the run-around. The "supervisor" made some calls and indicated that the matter would be resolved.

My encounter with this nursing facility is one that I will regret for the rest of my life.

Be alert when checking these facilities. What they show you on the tours is not what you will get.