My mother has been in a rehab facility for PT and has not had a shower or shampoo in 9 days! I inquire about this daily and the response is they will "look into it". The facility's policy is twice weekly. My mother wants a shower. She is alert and aware. Isn’t it a law? I live in NJ if the laws are according to state
They were most likely running behind on showering patients, and just marking the ones they didn't get to as non-compliant. It helps to be very vocal!
I had a similar situation with my Mom. After my Mom fell, I asked to speak to the head nurse, case manager,etc. Nothing!! ( all of a sudden, no one was available)
I actually told them I was going to call 911, for abuse against an elderly person.
Next thing I knew, the "High King", turned up.
Told him what happened,( he already knew) and, of course, he apologized to my Mom and myself. But the damage was done. My Mom passed away 3 days later. And for NO other reason, but the care( sloppy care) she received.
After one month, I wrote letters to every politician I could find.
I also got a lawyer, who was very reasonable, and helped me and my family tremendously.
After going back & forth, the facility offered a good amount of money. But I wasn't thinking of the money. To put it bluntly, I wanted revenge for what they did to my mother. I said,"Take it to court,"and get a jury to decide. My God, the facility was upset ( I ALWAYS asked for & received her medical records since day 1)
I just didn't want this to happen to all the other patients being cared for.
So we went to court. I actually had a video played at the hearing, and pictures from her birth to the day she died were shown.
Also, and this was the clincher, all the medical records I had, were different from their records. Words,and reports that were different than mine. mine showed exact dates & times, and ( I don't know why I thought of this) but initialized by the each care taker,as each on was received by me. Each time I got a copy of anything, I went to the head nurse, to have them explain to me, what each, tests, blood work,etc.
They were found guilty of negligence. And the money awarded was 10-20 times the amount originally to settle out of court. Look I didn't care about the money, in fact, almost 70% was donated , in my Mom's name to St.Judes Children's hospital.
I loved my Mom. I miss her every day. I did this for HER.
For the principal, of a care facility who I felt didn't give a damn about MY Mom.To them, she was just a number. But to me? She was a wonderful woman, who I loved very deeply.
Whatever you do, that is your choice. I know you loved her.
And I do know that some people think I went too extreme in handling this. But it brought a sense of peace to me, that I fought for her dignity.
May God bless you.
F242 (Rev. 48; Issued: 06-12-09; Effective/Implementation Date: 06-12-09) §483.15(b) - Self-Determination and Participation The resident has the right to-- (1) Choose activities, schedules, and health care consistent with his or her interests, assessments, and plans of care; (2) Interact with members of the community both inside and outside the facility; and (3) Make choices about aspects of his or her life in the facility that are significant to the resident.
To further understand that I am also sending the the "Interpretive Guidelines" which is what surveyors use to understand and judge a situation, that says;
§483.15(b) Many types of choices are mentioned in this regulatory requirement. The first of these is choice over “activities.” It is an important right for a resident to have choices to participate in preferred activities, whether they are part of the formal activities program or self-directed. However, the regulation at §483.15(f) Activities, F248 covers both formal and self-directed activities.
For issues concerning choices over activities, use Tag F248. The second listed choice is “schedules.” Residents have the right to have a choice over their schedules, consistent with their interests, assessments and plans of care. Choice over “schedules” includes (but is not limited to) choices over the schedules that are important to the resident, such as daily waking, eating, bathing, and the time for going to bed at night. Residents have the right to choose health care schedules consistent with their interests and preferences, and the facility should gather this information in order to be proactive in assisting residents to fulfill their choices. For example, if a resident mentions that her therapy is scheduled at the time of her favorite television program, the facility should accommodate the resident to the extent that it can.
If the resident refuses a bath because he or she prefers a shower or a different bathing method such as in-bed bathing, prefers it at a different time of day or on a different day, does not feel well that day, is uneasy about the aide assigned to help or is worried about falling, the staff member should make the necessary adjustments realizing the resident is not refusing to be clean but refusing the bath under the circumstance provided. The facility staff should meet with the resident to make adjustments in the care plan to accommodate his or her preferences.
I live and work in Missouri, here is what our State Law says concerning bathing of residents:
"Each resident shall be clean, dry and free of body and mouth odor that is offensive to others."
As an advocate I love this regulation! Many times facilities would tell me that they were only required to give two baths a week. I would tell them that if they could keep my client "clean, dry and free of body and mouth odor" with two baths a week that was fine. However, if they could not they would have to give them as many baths a week as it took to meet that goal." Some of my clients got baths 7 days a week!
Knowledge is power, you need to know the laws governing long-term care. If you know them, you can become a powerful advocate for your loved one! I don't know where you live, but I would look into the laws of your State and see what they say. If you need help finding them, contact your local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, they are experts in the law and can give you that information.
I hope this has helped answer your question!
If it is their policy for twice weekly and she wants a shower I would demand they give her one NOW. Advise them you will be reporting them if they don’t comply. They are getting paid for her being there. It makes me wonder if she is really receiving the PT she’s there for. Wow.
Is she is there for rehab, maybe the OT can do it if she gets OT. Yes they do showers & bedside baths with the little tubs/washcloth.
If you want to you can also get/use the moisturizing wipes. Heat in microwave a few seconds(usually says on the back of packaging) to warm up. I have used this method when travelling in the heat. Very refreshing. You feel like you had a shower.
Go to the charge nurse and ask whats going on. Make sure your mom is not refusing. They are allowed to refuse, but too often is not good. They have to shower, so they can look for sores and skin integrity. A few refusals gets you a shower anyway.
Good luck.
Washing is sufficient and many older people strongly resist showering or bathing. I know people who haven't taken a full body bath or shower in YEARS. Their families have no idea. They either wash up themselves or consent to being washed by aides.
However, if your mom wants a shower, she certainly should be able to get one. I agree with another poster that it may be they are coming for her at an undesirable time, but that, too can be worked out. If you haven't already, talk to the nursing director and ask exactly when mom's bath/shower will take place. If you've already done that to no avail, talk to the executive director. If that doesn't work it's time to report the facility.
Your goal is for mom to get her shower, dealing first with the people who can give it to her is your best bet.
Talk to the Director and file a complaint with the State Health Department. There are inspectors that come in on routine basis for inspections and they will follow up on complaints. Most states also have an Ombudsman that you can contact.
Now it is possible that when the aids come in to shower her she says no she does not want a shower. If that is the case they can not force her. And keep in mind that the shower could be at any time of day. Me, I prefer a shower in the morning and if someone came to me at 1:00 in the afternoon and said it is time for your shower I would probably tell them it is not time and I did not want a shower. So you might want to ask at what time is her shower scheduled and if you can arrange a visit at about that time of day it might be helpful, you could encourage her if she seems reluctant.
It is not necessary for anyone to take a shower everyday. It's only recently that people have become so germ phobic and are bathing all the time. Most people in the world did not have hot and cold running water in their homes until well into the 20th century. Many people in the world still do not have it.
A daily wash up at the sink would be sufficient for most residents of a nursing home, with an occasional full shower. It depends on how much the resident perspires in the bed, and whether they are incontinent or not.
I'm at RN, by the way.
I don't know what is wrong with society that these places are so neglectful. My mom got a stage 4 wound in one of these places and a UTI so bad that she had to be rushed to ER. I never sent her back there. What is wrong that NH and rehab places treat residents worse than prisoners in a prison in our society? And get paid heavily for it. People seem to be punished in these places for living too long and that is just wrong.
CONTACT THESE SO CALLED "CARE" FACILITY PERSONNEL AND LET THEM KNOW YOU ARE COMING TO BATH YOUR MOTHER ALONG WITH A CAMERA CREW TO DOCUMENT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. LET THEM ALSO KNOW THAT IF YOU SEE, HEAR OR AM TOLD OF ANY BACKLASH REGARDING MOTHER THAT THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!
DR COPPERTINO