Unhappy Family

[ladibug787878]

How do you convince a family to move their loved one to another facility if the facility they are currently in are always wrong and terrible. We have a family member that calls Public Health monthly on our facility for things that we did not do right. We have asked several times if she is that unhappy with her care we will help look for another facility. She states, "they are all the same." Any suggestions on how to handle this family member. We have even had public health suggest to them to move her.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

I've run into these kinds of families more than once. Call your Ombudsman and have her/him attend a family meeting. That way YOUR side of the story is clearly spelled out and everyone --especially DPH--knows all the complaints are preposterous.

[twinsmom788]

I've run into these kinds of families more than once. Call your Ombudsman and have her/him attend a family meeting. That way YOUR side of the story is clearly spelled out and everyone --especially DPH--knows all the complaints are preposterous.

Maybe in THIS situation "all the complaints are preposterous "

[twinsmom788]

Believe me, I have dealt with a multitude of these issues as a surveyor. The state knows when to get the ombudsman involved and sometimes this situation rises to the level of a CMS rectification.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We are very proactive at my facility and I've always had a good relationship with my Ombudsman. We've included him/her in a number of family issues. I've always found the ones I've dealt with to be very helpful since they are not on 'our side' or the 'family's side' but on the RESIDENT's side.

[HehLPN, LPN]

We have a few families like this...just on my unit alone. We have worked with our social services department to refer them to local grief counselors. Maybe they are stuck in the grief process and using the facility as a punching bag because they don't know what else to do. Not always the case, but worth a try.

[ladibug787878]

Well good and bad news. Days after typing this the family member crossed the line. She made threating statements to her mothers roommate. So we had to walk her out of the facility while we conducted the investigation. Since she wasn't allowed in the facility, she chose to move her mother to another facility in the area. I feel terrible for the resident. She has been here for 9 years and is very sweet and loving. The staff truly miss her. So sad that it had to come to this. We could never get our Obundsmun to get involved because this particular family did not want it. We made them aware through out the years, but this family member refused to meet anyone unless it was in the hallway or calling State. Thanks everyone