Okay, I've been a dedicated lurker here - responding every once in a while. Something happened today at work that has me particularly stressed. I work in a LTC facility, and have for the past six years. I love my job - I love the residents. I can take or leave some of the families. It's a hard specialty - having to nurse the family as much or more than the patient.
Anyway.... At our facility, we have a particularly troublesome family. They admitted their 98 year old mother (current age) five years ago, and haven't stopped complaining - at first it was the temperature, the roommate, the wrinkled clothing from laundry, etc - relatively minor things that, unfortunately, when surveyed become much larger. I understand that they have LOTS of guilt in placing "momma" - they had always told her that she would never be in a nursing home, I understand that the guilt is the basis of their complaining. Unfortunately, DFS does not always understand that.
Onto the problem - they made an allegation about an aide "abusing" their mother. (Please note that because of the various complaints that the family has submitted over the past years, no one is allowed to provide care for this person without a witness). Their definition of abuse is that the aide "touched her skin" while repositioning her. (We are forbidden to have skin-to-skin or glove-to-skin contact with this resident. We have to turn her using only the draw sheet, not our hands as support. If we are to lift her +4 pedal edema feet to get them off the bed, a towel must be slid under her ankles to provide a canopy with which to lift).
The allegation of the abuse was reported to DFS, as per protocol. DFS went to visit the employee AT HER HOUSE!! They also went to visit the charge nurse at her house!! I am at a loss. I do QA/ ADON at our building. We can't ask the Ombudsman to intervene - they will only cite resident rights. We can't ask DFS to intervene - they also are for resident rights. What entity do we have to intervene on the behalf of employee rights? Any help/ insight would be greatly appreciated - thanks
CoachCathy
37 Posts
Okay, I've been a dedicated lurker here - responding every once in a while. Something happened today at work that has me particularly stressed. I work in a LTC facility, and have for the past six years. I love my job - I love the residents. I can take or leave some of the families. It's a hard specialty - having to nurse the family as much or more than the patient.
Anyway.... At our facility, we have a particularly troublesome family. They admitted their 98 year old mother (current age) five years ago, and haven't stopped complaining - at first it was the temperature, the roommate, the wrinkled clothing from laundry, etc - relatively minor things that, unfortunately, when surveyed become much larger. I understand that they have LOTS of guilt in placing "momma" - they had always told her that she would never be in a nursing home, I understand that the guilt is the basis of their complaining. Unfortunately, DFS does not always understand that.
Onto the problem - they made an allegation about an aide "abusing" their mother. (Please note that because of the various complaints that the family has submitted over the past years, no one is allowed to provide care for this person without a witness). Their definition of abuse is that the aide "touched her skin" while repositioning her. (We are forbidden to have skin-to-skin or glove-to-skin contact with this resident. We have to turn her using only the draw sheet, not our hands as support. If we are to lift her +4 pedal edema feet to get them off the bed, a towel must be slid under her ankles to provide a canopy with which to lift).
The allegation of the abuse was reported to DFS, as per protocol. DFS went to visit the employee AT HER HOUSE!! They also went to visit the charge nurse at her house!! I am at a loss. I do QA/ ADON at our building. We can't ask the Ombudsman to intervene - they will only cite resident rights. We can't ask DFS to intervene - they also are for resident rights. What entity do we have to intervene on the behalf of employee rights? Any help/ insight would be greatly appreciated - thanks