nursing home problems ????

Question

my husbands mom lives in a nursing home ...due to her being parilized and cant walk and very bad health problems..she has high sugar and they are not feeding her right they are feeding prossesd meat pattys and somthing that looks like baby food. enought like a baby meal. we take her sugar free snacks they wont give her a bath they are not taking care of her i dont want her to be treated like an animal .we complained over 6 times we talked to the head person .they wont comply about her care
this is getting out of hand
is there any texas state org that i can call or write to to report this matter..im trying to find her another place ..but please note my husband and i did not put her in this home his sisster did.
i dont want them to kill her she already has one yr to live please help thank you

Answer 1

HEALTH & SAFETY FOR SENIORS. The Office of the Attorney General seeks to protect senior Texans and other health-care service consumers from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The Office of the Attorney General receives referrals from client agencies to pursue civil actions against long-term care facilities and to investigate incidents for criminal prosecution. The AG’s Consumer Protection & Public Health Division takes civil legal action to ensure quality treatment in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health agencies. The AG's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and refers to prosecutors cases involving abuse, neglect or exploitation in Medicaid-funded facilities.

Abuse includes involuntary seclusion, intimidation, humiliation, harassment, threats of punishment, deprivation, hitting, slapping, pinching, kicking, any type of corporal punishment, sexual assault, sexual coercion, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, or any oral, written, or gestured language that includes disparaging or derogatory terms, regardless of the person's ability to hear or comprehend.

Neglect means the failure of a caretaker to provide the goods or services, including medical services, which are necessary to avoid physical or emotional harm or pain.

Exploitation includes a caretaker's using the resources of a senior for monetary or personal benefit, profit, or gain. Seniors may need help with their finances, but unless they hand control over to another person, they have the same right as anyone else to receive, spend, invest, save, or give away their money. A family member, "friend," or nursing home may not take control of a senior’s money without that person's permission. Also, a resident of a nursing home or other facility may review all of his or her records. This includes medical, nursing, financial, social, contractual, and legal records. These records may not be released without the individual's permission, except when required by law or when the resident is transferred to another facility.

If you suspect a problem, discuss the matter with the nursing home, assisted living facility, or home health agency administrator. If you are aware of a specific act of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, you are required by law to report it. If the victim is in a nursing home or assisted living facility, or is in his or her home and using a home health agency, call the Department of Aging and Disability Services at 1-800-458-9858. Otherwise, call The Department of Family and Protective Services at 1-800-252-5400.

Answer 2

I am a nursing home Administrator and I have several questions for you to consider...

1. Has your mother-in-law been evaluated by a speech therapist for swallowing problems? If she is paralyzed this could very well be why she is on a different diet. Many people living in a nursing home are there because they are at risk for choking on regular foods...

2. Have you asked the home whether there is an option for your mother-in-law to take baths vs. showers? Often a shower can be a more threatening experience...A bath can be more soothing than a shower sometimes...

3. No nursing home has the intention of "killing" your mother in law. Every establishment has the best of intentions and depends on the individuals working there. Occasionally an establishment has a miscommunication with a family on what the expectations are. Keep trying to work with the Administrator and the Director of Nursing. If they are carrying out specific intitiatives such as sugar free snacks, they are doing so for a reason.

4. Please keep following up with facility staff. You will have a much more direct, positive experience than dealing with the state, etc.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, this is the way it goes. My mother was in a nursing home and when I look back at it, her care was less than minimal. She was given a shower once a week and her hair was greasy.
Looking back on it, I wish I could have done more, but I was 25 yrs old, divorced and raising 2 little kids alone. I had my hands full.
The best thing you can do is show your presence often. Bring shampoos and soaps for her to be washed in and tell them that is what it is for. Attend her care plan meetings and inquire about her care. Tell them you would like for her to be showered and not just once in awhile. Maybe, if you have the financial means, you could hire private help to go out and give her a bath and wash her hair, or even have her friends or family go out at meal time and feed her.
Nursing home care is nothing short of pathetic. I feel for you.
I believe you are better off to put her in a smaller facility. Big nursing homes which house many patients lose track of what is going on with every single patient. They fall thru the cracks.
Ask the people who are insuring her like medicaide or medicare to examine the facility and tell them your concerns. They will be out in 24 hours to see her. You can also talk directly with the director of nursing and they will address your concerns.

Answer 4

Don't threaten document every thing in a letter and when you go to visit there will be a sign on the nursing home wall somewhere that states the local Ombudsman's Call them and don't tell the hospital talk about putting the fear of God into a nursing home the ombudsmen can shut them down, Fax them all your info. It will be anonymous when your report. also I would call adult protective service right away that is in your government pages

Answer 5

1-800-677-1116

call that number to get advice.

These are specific for TX :

1-800-252-5400
More Information

Texas Adult Protective Services
Online Abuse/Neglect/ Exploitation Reporting Form
1-800-458-9858


Best of luck and thoughts.

Answer 6

You have to file your complaints with the apropriate state agency, you can call the following number to file an official complaint
1-800-458-9858 you can also use the following web site to file your complaint http://www.dads.state.tx.us/ You also need to contact the following number 1-800-252-5400 and go to this web site https://www.txabusehotline.org
Call your local health and human services or social services and ask to speak with the Ombudsman for the nursing homes in your county, file a complaint with him/her.
You need to call each and every one of these departments and any other person that you can file a complaint with. Dont stop with one department, no matter what they say file a complaint with each and every one of them. If you dont and only file a complaint with one department then your case will only get swept under the rug.
If you move her you should still file your complaints because if its happening to her then it is or could be happening to someone else

Answer 7

Iam sry that i do not know of any place to report to, but i am very sry you are going thru this, and even more for your Mum in Law. I would actully call the police. you know next time they do something pretty bad, call them, and they should be able to find someone.

Answer 8

I would call the state to make a complaint. But if you don't like that place it should not take forever to get her into a new home.

Answer 9

Help you with what making the decision to move her to a facility that can assist her better with her needs......OK, maybe you guys should move her.