I was a rehab patient at Hollis House of Horrors for about six weeks after spinal surgery.
I have nothing positive to say whatsoever about the administrators, social workers, and other managerial staff who make their money providing the substandard care that patients are subjected to day after day.
Anyone who is unable to advocate for themselves will surely suffer. To the extent management takes any interest in the clientele it is only when a sufficiently loud complaint is made, repeatedly if necessary.
One morning, a nurse was so quick and rough changing my shirt that my neck was yanked hard enough to require painkillers and x-rays to ensure no damage had occurred.
I was also awoken in the middle of the night when someone was taking my blood. The administrator told me it was regular practice to draw blood, and the service comes early in the morning hours.
I also blame management on the complete lack of communication between night staff and day staff, as well as staff taking breaks and other staff that remain on-duty.
Requests or information conveyed to day staff will likely never be known to the night staff and vice versa. The same holds true with morning and afternoon staff and vice versa.
The lack of safety protocols was also evident after I began to feel ill and needed to insist on getting a Covid test.Had I not insisted on the test and the medicine, I likely would've been allowed to interact with staff and patients for days, the majority of whom don't wear masks when interacting with others -even after it was obvious that there was Covid in the facility because I had not been outside in six weeks to contract it elsewhere.
To make matters worse, after some investigation, I was advised that the last dose of my covid medicine was used on another patient while they waited for medicine to arrive for that patient- the poor record-keeping and the need for me to insist that I had not finished a full course of the medication was completely unacceptable in a facility charged with administering medication to patients.
Also, because of a lack of dexterity in my hand I was supposed to receive a weighted spoon with every meal, which allowed me to feed myself. At least 50% of the time the weighted spoon was not provided to me with my meals even though it was noted on every meal slip given to me with each meal.
In another example of management disconnect with the patients in their care, the facility is undergoing renovations that began at 8 o'clock in the morning and continued past 8 PM-Despite the law requiring construction to stop at 6 PM. It makes me physically ill to think of all the patients unable to speak for themselves that likely must endure that construction till 8:00 PM.
There was no safety grab bars in the bathroom in my room.
When my dirty laundry continued to sit for 2 weeks, the excuse I was given was when there's not enough laundry, it's not taken- Zero acceptance of any responsibility by management.
Overall, my stay at the Hollis horror house was almost as traumatic as my spinal injury itself. Being subjected to diaper changes at five in the morning despite my insistence that it's not necessary, the crappy food, the lack of safety protocols and absence of sufficient staff that allows for proper recordkeeping and effective communications between staff to be standard practice makes this place as close to hell on earth as I would ever want to come.
I don't believe this facility should be allowed to care for patients at all, but if you are considering this facility for yourself or for a loved one be prepared to vigorously and aggressively advocate on a daily basis for yourself or your loved one. Understand that complaints made to anyone other then the administrator and which you dont document are likely going to be lost if not ignored read more