My 86-year-old mother came to the "short stay" wing here, following a second hip surgery. She could…read morebarely move. She desperately needed compassion and understanding. What she received instead was neglect and taunting abuse by many staff members, nurses and even the supervisors. To this day, she continues to have nightmares about the treatment that she received.
I am a retired professional, the 24-hour home caregiver, and the legal health care representative for my mother, since 2008. Throughout her nine (9) surgeries and falls spanning that time, with many of those requiring a skilled nursing care stay, *never* has there been an experience like this.
I was present every day here for the two months that she suffered, so I am a direct eyewitness. All of the incidents that she (and I, as her advocate) endured, I have thoroughly documented as they had happened--and am seriously considering reaching out to a higher authority, for some kind of guidance. These incidents are possibly illegal, and are definitely inhumane.
Despite it all, high praise goes to: Doctor Maggie, who is a true angel; nurses Robin and Vanessa; physical therapists Katie and Courtney; and aides Rachel, Leanne, Cheryl, Vera, and Jovi. Without their support and hard work, my mother would have given up the will in this facility, and passed away.
Generally speaking, my mother was ignored or put down, whenever she truly needed help...sometimes she would have to wait for hours.... *I* was dismissed or frowned upon, whenever I attempted to *get* her help... The automatic response was usually (and angrily) "when I am finished with all the other patients, I will go to your mother's room". This was said to me over and over. It was even said to me one Saturday, when my mother almost fell on the floor and I cried "emergency"!! However, most of the time, the help never came. There is clearly a severe staff shortage. Those few dedicated aides try to make up for all of the others, working their fingers to the bone....The food is slop, cold, and not fit for human consumption. Staff members admitted that much of the food is "recycled" from patient to patient, and even from floor to floor. We were not even aware that there was a "choice" for her meals, until almost two weeks in, and she seldom received what she ordered.....There is a potent burning and roasting smell, whose fumes continually came through my mother's closed window, day and night. Her throat suffered. These fumes had a habit of frequently setting off the fire alarms. An aide told that there is a florist next door which burns things, but no other staff ever mentions it.....There are rumors that wicca is practiced here among certain staff members and long-time patients. Somebody at Hartford Hospital who used to work here did mention a "tiger room".
When my mother first arrived, the sheets were thrown off the bed onto the floor by a supervisor who seemed irritated that she was there. Her room did not have a phone. When I asked for one to be hooked up, the supervisor then tested a call --my caller ID said "scam likely"!....The following morning, the line had been "corrected" and it appeared normal.
We were then informed by a social worker that my mother was to be moved to a different room. When asked why, one of the nurses said, "because her roommate complained about her." Why was my mother, who has suffered two broken hips and two knee replacements, being carted around the floor like a criminal? I noticed that many patients with severe memory loss are brought into the "short stay" wing. This should not be allowed, imo.
One morning, I came in to find her crying. One of the night aides had tormented her. The aide scolded her and said, "You are a racist! Everybody on this floor is talking about you. You are the very last person that we serve, because you are such a racist". This set my mother back emotionally severely, in her recovery efforts. Upon reporting this, we were informed that this aide was simply "given some training".
Afterwards, a "pain management" person declared that he was changing my mother's meds to something lesser, even though we had tried that before. I suggested using a less frequent dosage of her current medication, but he would not listen. I protested--and he declared that if I did not pipe down, he would "have me thrown out of the building." Exact words. Yes....I would have actually been forcibly removed, for simply exercising my legal right to advocate for my parent's needs.
The last straw came when a different night aide had taunted my mother. Next morning, she was was crying hysterically. Upon reporting this, we were told that because she filed a second complaint, *two aides* needed to go into her room at all times...Clear retaliation. We were told, "it is to protect our staff, as well as the patient". A private call to the social worker, resulted in her bringing five top staff into the room, in intimidation. I was reprimanded for complaining too often.
