First off, let me say that this question if of a personal nature as it has to do with my Grandmother who is 80 years old and has Alzheimers. She is in a LTC facility but not in the Alzheimers unit. She is at the point that she no longer walks or talks, and the only response that she gives is an occasional laugh. Up until now she has been a great eater. However, in the last week she has not been eating at all...kinda like she doesnt know how to maneuver the pureed food in her mouth. So the speech therapist (not an employee of the facility, but one contracted by the facility)started working with her and decided to try syringe feeding since she determined that her swallowing ability is just fine. The syringe feeding went wonderful and the ST drew up an order for the MD to sign to continue the syringe feeding. All of a sudden, the LTC administrator contacts my mother (the POA for my grandmother) and tells her that syringe feeding is not allowed in their facility and the only option is for a feeding tube (which will never be utilized due to the living will already in place). My mother explained that my grandmother has not given up eating, she just has lost the ability to get the food to the back of her mouth to swallow. They are still refusing to syringe feed. I have never worked in LTC (I'm an LPN) so I'm not sure if this is a common problem so I thought I would check here. Is this not a form of neglect? My grandmother is 100% healthy otherwise, no hypertension, diabetes, etc. The only health problem she has ever had is a small skin cancer removed from her nose. Alzheimers is a terrible disease and I know there will be a point when she does lose her ability to swallow, but until then isn't there a responsibility to feed her as long as she is able? Thanks for any input.
