How is this okay?

There is a man on our Chronic Confusion & Dementia Unit named R. R is incontinent, ambulatory, sexually aggressive (the crudest things I've ever heard someone say come out of this man's mouth!), and extremely combative about 60-75% of the time. He lies in his bed all day, on rare occasions will eat meals with the other residents. He always refuses his showers or baths, and won't even allow us aides to change his briefs or clothes! Most of the time he might go 24 hours or more without a change. His room always smells like a barn because of this, and his bed is completely soaked every time I see him. In my opinion, this man is not getting the care he receives because he does not belong here -- he belongs in a more psychological institution.

On Saturday night, I called the nurse in to look at a red, raised rash I had noticed on his neck. We took his temp, 100.8 and charted. Sunday night, the rash was spreading with water blisters, temp of 100.8 and charted. The next time I worked was Tuesday morning, and this time the rash had spread down his chest and down parts of his back, and around his neck some more. The whole right side of his face was swollen. Just to be on the safe side, I found a box of face masks for the aides in his room, and I set that and a box of gloves next to his bed. I figured soon he would be some kind of isolation, and was kind of surprised he wasn't already. Upon changing his brief and gown, I discovered chicken pox-like spots on his lower back, on and inside his buttocks, and on the very top of his legs. The water blisters on the other type of rash were now purple, like small blood blisters everywhere. Temp was still 100 and some.

Soon every nurse was offering her opinion, and the ADON was convinced it was shingles. No one agreed. The whole time I'm wondering why this man hadn't been sent out yet! Here was a rash that the nurses could not agree on, it was spreading rapidly with a fever maintained, and he was not eating and barely voiding or defecating. I am only an aide, I don't know much, but goodness -- this man has a healthy roommate, it isn't fair to keep him in the same room!

I worked yesterday morning again, and at the very end of my shift, the doctor had finally ordered contact isolation -- gloves, mask, gowns. A few hours later, I was gone by then, he was finally sent out to the hospital. Diagnosed with shingles, cellulitis, and abcesses.

Does this sound right? The whole course of action here? If no one knew what it was, and the doctor had not offered his opinion four almost a week, who are we to say it couldn't have been airborne? I'm so surprised at this situation, but the nurse I talked to today told me I was right to be and that our LTCF has pulled this before -- one woman had SARS on another wing and was never sent out. Wha??

What do you all think?