4 years ago
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!! My Mom was a very vibrant 81...
HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!! My Mom was a very vibrant 81 year old woman who suffered from dementia. She was witty and full of life. She carried herself very well with this disease and disguised it with ease. Mom was admitted to this facility on May 14, 2020 for a non surgical hip fracture, on the advice of Valley Hospital as she could not bear any weight and was in excruciating pain. She was in need of physical therapy. The Christian Health Care Center was recommended to us. Due to COVID-19 we were told that we would not be able to go into the facility to visit with Mom, so as you can imagine, we were very worried about her being there and being isolated from her family. We talked with "K" from the Admitting Office at Christian Health Care Center and she assured us that Mom would be OK and that they were very capable of handling Mom with her dementia issues. Unfortunately that was not the case. Mom was admitted on Thursday 5/14/20. Mom was transferred from Valley Hospital. When Mom was admitted she had dentures and glasses that she wore every day. I met the ambulance at the Christian Health Care Center so that I could see Mom before she went in. I spoke with the charge nurse on Thursday 5/14 and on Friday 5/15 to make sure that Mom had her teeth and glasses. Charge Nurse "C" assured me that Mom had her teeth and glasses. Over the weekend we visited Moms window and she seemed to be OK. On Monday 5/18 I received a call from Charge Nurse "C". She mentioned that she was going through Moms paperwork and that it mentioned she had dentures and glasses but apparently Mom didn't have these items with her. (even though they told me that she had them on Thursday & Friday) They apparently never went through Moms intake bag from from Valley Hospital, which is where they found these items on Tuesday. After 5 days of Mom not having her teeth, she was unable to put them back in. I repeatedly asked the nurses to help her with her teeth. This did not work. My sister and I called Charge Nurse "C" every day to check on Mom. We were at her window at least 3 times a day. My sister and I brought her favorite things to eat every day. Unfortunately, without Mom having her teeth in or any feeding assistance, she had a very hard time eating. We would have to call the Charge Nurse to please have someone go in and help Mom. Mom was also continent when she admitted - never wore a diaper. They had her in a diaper as soon as she got there. Charge Nurse "C" and the head Dr. "S" also suggested that we give Mom medication so that she would be more manageable. They said that this was common for patients with dementia and that it would help her. I didn't agree but I think they medicated her anyway. They also had Mom seen for psychiatric evaluations. I didn't understand why since she had dementia.Several times when visiting her window, Mom was slumped over in a wheelchair or sleeping in the bed . When calling to check on Mom, I was told that Mom was uncooperative and had to hear about her bad behavior. I kept reminding them that Mom had dementia not bad behavior. After the 3rd week there we hired a private aide to go in and help Mom. Unfortunately it was a little too late as Mom's appetite had decreased severely without having her teeth and she was very withdrawn.We took Mom home after the 3rd week.She lost over 40lbs, was in a diaper and was very uninterested in eating.After 3 months home trying to get her to eat and get her back to what she was -she gave up and passed away. I would also like to mention that In July the Christian Health Care office called me to tell me that they had several of Moms things including her gold watch that she left behind.I advised them that I couldn't get there right away as Mom was home with Hospice. When I called in August to let them know that I would be by to pick up Moms belongings they advised me that they couldn't find them. DO NOT put your loved ones here unless you can spend a lot of time with them.My Mom was only 81 and I believe she would be alive today if she wasn't in the care of their care.