Nursing homes?

my dad is in a nursing home. We have had lots of problems ever since he got real sick. he has MS and we can't seem to find a nursing home that is even decent (with their care). How do you know if it's a good one or not? He's in the third one. I'm a nursing student so when I'm there I watch them very closely. They don't do anything they way I was taught. They are rough when they move him around. They don't give him water through his feeding tube. They don't change him when he uses the bathroom for very long periods of time. Today they told us he needs a blood transfusion but wouldn't tell my sister why. They just said the lab reports said he needed it which is not good enough for me. They said they have to wait until the hospital isn't so full to get it done. Are there any good nursing homes? Or do they all treat their patients like crap?

I am CNA in a nursing home and the answer is no nursing home will ever be good enough for your family member because they deserve the best in care. In my home the corp. only allows so much staffing and we are expected to do it all I take care of 12-15 patients. I have 1 hour and 45 mins to shower and dress all 12-15 residests. As well as answer hundreds of lights, get vitals, pass ice, pass snacks, and change and turn them every two hours., as well as do everything the nurse tells me to. I have approx 7 mins per patient, and even less when you factor in all other things like lights, ice etc. This all stems from the state and government guidelines to the corps. are not strict enough.
Take this from exp. The residents that get the best care are the ones with families that ***** non stop. But then staff hate your gts. If you keep moving your father around you will get a black flag with future nursing homes and then noone will except him. That has happened to a few that have tried to move thier parents out of ours. We have one of the highest rated homes in PA for our size, but it wil never be good enough for some families. My grandma stayed there till she moved to an assisted living facility. She was too good for long term care. I chose my home because of our scores. You can look up all deficiences in the nursing homes you want it is publiv viewing on line under PA dept of health. I know how you feel, but believe me majority of staff love what they do, but are sad there is not enough time for all that needs done. Why else would I clean up Bm and vomit for 8.00$ per hour. Thats after 9 yrs of service. I suggest you keep your father where he is unless they are abusing him by emotional stress or physical, if you try to move him again, it might backfire. Make lots of notes around his room for staff to read about suggstions. Buy him good soap we love washing people with good soap, deoderant, lotions, etc.
The lowest people on the pole in the nursing home are the ones who care because they see the patient the most, as you move up it gets worse. But blame the stae and the corporations that own the homes for the crappy service.

Im sure there are some good ones out there...even though you hear more about the bad ones than the good. I would ask for references at the rest homes you check out. Maybe get some feedback from some family members who have loved ones at that particular location you might be interested in. Good Luck

Honey..stay on top of it as much as you can. Report them if you had to....I wish I had. My grandfather was in a recovery/nursing home type of hospital and we often visited him and came in to find him gasping for air cause his air mask had fallen of or was unplugged, or the hose just slipped of. We often saved his life by getting there just in time. Obviously we couldn't be there 24/7 and I think that's what lead to his death. We got there he wasn't at his bed anymore and no one had told us or called us to tell us he had had a problem and they took him to the hospital via ambulance. I can't beleive I didn't just sleep there in his room with him he'd still be here. All the things I saw done wrong and I did nothing. Yes, they do treat them like crap, even with the family there. I'd say they do something wrong report it, and look for another or I don't know how bad he is, maybe you can get help to hire a private nurse. I know my grandparents had one for a while. Their insurance and some elders assistant program helped pay for it. I would check into it. Your right though, trust your instincts, don't settle, and speak.

Do not know what state you are in, but, their is a licensing board some where that gave them a license to operate that nursing home. Get a hold of them. Here we have Ombudsmen, They are a go between for the patient. Ger a hold of them or their counterpart. Call adult abuse center. MOST important, document everything. Get a notebook, in ink write down and date what you see that is incorrect, wrong, hurtful harmful. It does take a lot but 2 of the places here were finally looked into. The owner, manager went to trial and or jail. Any way it is now under new management. Talk to other people about their family member residing in the home.

I think anyone who really checks into what goes on in a nursing home is dissatisfied with what they see.

From what I have heard other say, the care is better if a family member visits daily. They aren't as lax with care if they know a patient is going to have a visitor...one who will complain if things aren't being done for him.

I realize some patients need around the clock nursing care, but I hope my mom never gets to that point. She lives with us now and I think I would have someone come into the home and relieve me for time blocks before I would send her to a nursing home. She doesn't have a debilitating disease though, so that makes a difference.

My best advice is visit often, and at varying times. Keep them on their toes and question what you find unacceptable. Talk to the head nurse or who ever is on duty and make your concerns known. All nursing homes have areas they need to improve. Sad, but they are getting to be overworked and over-filled.

Try this Medicare site. See if your dad's nursing home is listed. You can compare it's ratings report with others in the area.
http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.a...

The best way to find a good nursing home, is to shop for a job at one. The places who pay thier employees well and are adequetly staffed will be the best ones with the most experienced people. Being a nursing student will put you at an advantage. Ask around, find out where everyone wants to work.

You should take him to the doctor yourself. Have the doctor do blood work on him and check for signs of neglect (bedsores, rashes, brusies). Ask the doctor to document EVERYTHING. Dehydration is easy to spot, and its the #1 problem in care facilities. Come back and say, hey, the doctor told me this and that, im worried. You wont even have to say any more because they are so paranoid about lawsuits. This should buy you some peace of mind until you find a good place.

Nursing homes are a last resort. If you are able to find an assisted living facility or hospice that will take him, that would be ideal. Usually the smaller homes are much, much better.

Call the director, his doctor and the board of directors. The standard of care seems to be very low. There are places that can care for your Dad the way he should. It never hurts to keep tabs on any health facility.

I have worked in several nursing homes and assisted living facilities....... the ONLY one I worked at that treated the patients the way they should and had a low patient to staff ratio and low turnover was the Washington State Soldier's Home........A State run facility. they paid staff way more than privately run homes, never gave us more than 8 patients per shift, and had the best care overall. The rest are run for profit, patients are "warehoused", they are paying low wages, have high turnover, and very high patient to staff ratios. I had 20 to 30 patients to care for on a shift at one place, which is impossible to give good care to that many. I just did the best I could and hoped they made it through another day. There can be good CNA's in any home who will give good care, but they are rare (honestly) and there just aren't enough of them to go around. The homes with the highest number of "welfare" clients are recieving the poorest care, in my experience.. I hope you can find a better place for your father.