Paper towel for female genitals?

I was concerned about moving mom into a "facility" because you read about how common it is for residents to deteriorate rapidly soon after. I think part of it is that they wouldn't be moving in if everything was great at home (they're already declining) but I really worry about the amount of individualized monitoring they do/don't get in these settings. There is just no replacement for a compassionate family member making it his/her business to do some looking out on your loved one's behalf. I hope your mom is doing well Momhouseme. Please give her a hug from a well wishing supporter.

to be prfectly honest, i dont think any of the staff has ever examined the peri natel area...scarey.

wow Dalia. When they say check out a nursing home/facility they refer to things like exterior cleanliness, well dressed residents etc...but what i posted and what you posted are the sorts of things that we should look for and ask about. Few of us think to ask about this and other sorts of basic care because we naively "assume." I assumed because mom is in "skilled" nursing. What a joke. Had I not been observant (on more than the paper towel front)...well. This should not be happening anywhere private pay or otherwise. In medicare and medicaid facilities in particular, they received state and/or federal funds and they should be doing the "right thing but they are not. It is a disgrace to our country, our elders and the families who has loved ones in these "skilled" environments.
I love research so I imagined, to self, of removing all toilet paper from all public restrooms in the faciilty (one) and see how long it would take for the staff to report no toilet paper. My question of course would be, if paper towels of industrial strength found in their restrooms is good for a patient then its good for the staff. Haven't done such a test (yet) but how interesting it would be. When I asked the paticular CNA not to use a paper towel when cleaning mom she replied "I wet it"...o h good, a cold harsh paper towel. I witnessed it myself and said nothing because I would have choked her. That was one night I had to walk away.

Wow-good answer Dahlia! This is why I read this site -to find out stuff like this. I do not need this info yet but I probably will sooner rather than later. Sorry your poor Mom had to go through that but I am so glad you got the NH to change!

Kudos to you for your interest and follow through on this. I hope my recent personal experience will be helpful. My chief advice is that SOMEONE needs to have a peek at your mom's peri-area several times a week and make sure no redness or rash is developing. I assumed that family members living a few minutes from mom were keeping an eye on this, but sadly that wasn't the case. If you can't do it, perhaps a friend or family member will agree to take on this responsibility.

Unfortunately, I live several hours from my mom who is in a brand new Alzheimers Care Facility. They say they are different with much more individualized care. A few family members wanted to move her in the month it opened. I felt very strongly that, since we already had round the clock care for mom at home, we should give the staff time to learn to work together, develop their routines, procedures, etc. Especially since "they approach it differently". There's always a bad hire or two in any kind of start up. My family couldn't be persuaded to wait and moved mom in. Poor mom endured a significant miscommunication on a medication she wasn't supposed to have on a regular basis, they dressed her "commando style" for a visit home with no underwear or depends, and about month ago when I visited her, I found a horrible rash in her groin area. Mom... she's been in the hospital twice since moving in (possible TIA and a horrible gastro intestinal bug) and, as a result of the poor hygiene, ended up with a raging urinary tract infection. It was diagnosed on a Friday, but they couldn't get antibiotics until Monday!!! When I discovered mom's rash, she had been recently toileted by the staff, but there were feces in all the folds of skin between her legs. It was so bad, I tried, but couldn't clean her myself. I worried about her falling and also about aggravating the angry, red, bumpy rash so I called for an attendant who used well over a dozen wipes tying to clean her and I asked at what point do they just put her in the shower... which she then did. I got the impression it was up to each CNA to use their judgement on toileting routines. Mom (and many Alz patients) don't like the shower, so they do a waist down version for peri-care. I too wondered what the protocol and gold-standard for peri-care is. I found some instructional videos on YouTube and let me tell you... if done "by the book" expect to use about 15 wipes after a straightforward BM. The cleaning I witnessed did not follow that procedure.

The Nurse explained a few days later that, because I had brought this to their attention, they had implemented new procedures for all patients and staff. While she never actually apologized, it was clear she found mom's condition to be totally unacceptable. She's been very responsive to my follow ups. My sense of the new procedure is that a completely incontinent resident like my mom is to be monitored at EACH toileting for any redness whatsoever, hypo-allergenic wipes are used for cleaning each trip to the toilet... even if just urine... and that barrier cream is now required and must be reapplied a few times each day. It's no longer up to the judgement of the caretaker. This might be due to the condition of mom's skin, but other caregivers have told me of the importance of barrier cream (a really thick zinc oxide based paste) for anyone that is in depends 24/7. They do use terry cloth towels and Dove Body Wash on her peri-area in the shower. I think she gets one at least 3x/week or more as needed. The facility does the laundry. I think ordinary paper towels would be irritating. Wipes are much softer. You can use Amazon's subscription service to stay well stocked in peri-care products at a discount. I hope that what I learned from mom's horrible experience will help prevent one for your mom. If you do learn what the industry standards are for peri-care, please let us know :-)

believe it or not the ombudsman does not know and doesn't appear to want to find out or get back to me on the query...which is why i posted. thanks for your feedback.

I don't know the regulations but why don't they just use baby wipes? I imagine cost but maybe if you provided them. Get the hypoallergenic kind , I think. When my girl was a newborn the baby wipes irritated her skin so we used a cloth like paper towel -napkin-like Viva and warm water. I love Viva paper towels, they are soft and strong. Any other brand I think would be too rough. As she got a little older she tolerated gentle wipes fine.
Towels are a nice thought but I worry about cross contamination. With wipes you can toss them right away. If they use towels I hope they have a bin right nearby to put the dirty ones in and don't rest them on anything. And, just as a reminder, wipe front to back. I also use corn starch for any areas outside that have folds. To keep the moisture away. I think that is OK to do. You may want to check with the doctor, though. Especially if there at any breathing problems. -that fine dust like powder .

Personally, I'd think a warm wash cloth and towel dry at least twice a day would be optimal, with perhaps special wipes used for in-between times. A paper towel is far too rough and I'd complain about that if I saw this myself. The same with no cleaning when a wet diaper is removed - that doesn't make sense.

As far as actual requirements, I'd check with your state and/or county licensing board. One way you could find the right place to check is to contact the ombudsman for that nursing home. Go to www.ltcombudsman.org and type the home's Zip code into the proper space. The contact information for your ombudsman will come up. This person can be very useful for many things related to the NH. If he or she can't give you a direct answer, they'll tell you the appropriate local authority to ask.
Good luck,
Carol