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Can you give me any other ideas of who they can call, or write to, to have
this facility Assisted Living checked out?
QUESTION: I'm Canadian, and therefore unable to answer the questions a good friend of
mine posed about an assisted living facility.
Here's the situation.
Her Gramma is in an assisted living facility, in Minnesota. This facility
has 3 floors, and when the elevator recently broke down, they refused to get
it repaired over the weekend, knowing full well that residents on the third
floor would have to walk down to get their meals. Gramma made it, just
barely.
Evening meals frequently consist of bread and tomatoes. This has been
verified by family members. They're also served food that's too tough to
chew or
too spicy. And large pieces of raw carrot are often given to them as a
snack, or part of a meal. More often than not, the residents go hungry
because they can't
eat the food. My friend's Gramma has lost 10 lbs in 2 months.
There are other instances of neglect/abuse, also verified by
family. BTW, this family is not quick to scream "neglect" or "abuse", they
are sensible people. The whole elevator deal was the last straw.
My friend, knowing that I'm an RN, asked me where she could call, to report
this facility, and maybe at least get an inspector in there to check things
out.
A call has already been made to Social Services.
Now, if this was Canada, I'd be able to give her a full list of phone
numbers, complete with names.
Can you give me any other ideas of who they can call, or write to, to have
this facility checked out? I have no idea of the regulations that an
American assisted living facility has to follow. Is it regulated state to
state, or the whole country?
Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions you may have.
ANSWER: How about calling an investigative reporter from the local newspaper or
television station? How about calling the patient's doctor and informing
him that the patient has lost that much weight which, unless she is on a
reduction diet, is deplorable!! How about requesting a meeting with the
Director, Owner of the Assisted Living Home with the ombudsman on hand?
Tell your friend to document the family concerns in a written letter to
the Director. If all those complaints are true, the situation is awful!
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