Who Cares About Elder Abuse Part II

It's situations like this that make me appreciate my training as a journalist. I've learned how to dig to get to the bottom of a story. And that's what I've been doing in this case involving my mother-in-law.

On Thursday I received a call from the North Carolina Boad of Nursing. A woman who identified herself as Jennifer Lewis informed me they were going to begin an investigation into my claims of abuse and negligence at the Brian Center of Yanceyville. Ms. Lewis says their role is to look into what role licensed nurses on staff may have played in the negligence of reporting the physical brusies my MIL sustained. She even gave me a number to call to verify if, in fact, a formal report had been filed---as the Director of Nursing at The Brian Center claimed.

Of course I don't think we're ever going to find out exactly what happened. My mother-in-law has alzheimers and certainly can't tell us. But I am at least going to have the satisfaction of knowing the Brian Center staff won't be able to sweep this under the rug and close their files on this case. As a matter of fact, the case is more open than ever.

And to think all of this could've been avoided had the Brian Center documented, as best they could, what happened in a timely fashion. And why the Director of Nursing was so adamant about providing my husband and I with a copy of the report they allegedly filed with the State is beyond me. But it looks like she's going to have to answer to a higher power.

Now we'll see who has the last word.

Who Cares About Elder Abuse?

As the family member of a loved one in a nursing home facility, I read with much interest the Raleigh News & Observer story about the fine levied against the Sunnybrook Healthcare & Rehabiltation Center in Wake County. The facility was fined $210,000 following an investigation into reports of abuse of a patient there.

Sunnybrook was fined for the following violations:

•Failure to notify family member and patient's doctor in a timely way when staff members found bruises on the older woman's face, shoulder and hip.

•Failure to supervise residents well enough to prevent accidents.

•Violated its own policies by failing to identify and report an injury of unknown source -- patient's bruises.

•And, failure to document and assess patient's bruising.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A FAMILIAR STORY....

My family is going through something similar and trying to get to the bottom of the incident involving my 91-year-old-mother-in-law at the Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation Center in Yanceyville.

To make a long story short, my MIL (who has alzheimers) had bruises on her right arm and left shoulder. The when, why, and how it happened remains unclear. The whodunnit is even more mysterious.

What we do know is we were notified of the bruises on Wednesday, July 22 by a nurse who questioned why nothing was written in her chart. When I went to the nursing home the next day, I observed the brusing first-hand and then talked with one of the nursing supervisors. First a member of the staff said they didn't know how the brusies got there. Then I was told my MIL got into an altercation with another resident and someone broke it up. But when I asked why nothing was documented about the incident, I couldn't get a straight answer. It appears the head nurse on duty on the alleged night in question (Sunday) up and moved to Tennessee the next day and gave her "I quit" notice via email.

So my question was, if the incident happened on Sunday, why didn't anyone question the bruises on Monday or Tuesday when they were helping my MIL get dressed or bathed.

My husband and I attended a meeting with the Director of Nursing on Monday. I asked for a copy of their investigative report but she refused to give it to me---saying it had been sent to the State.

Now it's time to see what the State Division of Health Services & Rehabilitation has to say. Stay tuned.....

How to Get Attention in the ER

Just say you think you're having a heart attack. It worked for me yesterday. I woke up with a pain in my chest. It felt like a knot. I also had some difficulty breathing. I tried to dismiss it and go about my day. After leaving the Farmer's Market, I came home, got on my computer---thinking that Twitter would somehow make me feel better (LOL!)

When I couldn't stand it anymore, I called my doctor's office and was told to go straight to the emergency room and tell them I was having chest pains. Since there is a history of heart disease in my family, I take this matter very seriously.

When I walked into the ER of Durham Regional Hospital, I saw a waiting room FULL of people and thought I would surely die if I had to wait. But no sooner than I gave my name and the nurse took my vitals, I was led to a bed with doctors and nurses rushing in to take care of me. (Maybe the fact that my blood pressure was 151/108 had something to do with it).

It was the best/worst experience I've ever had in an ER. I definitely didn't want to be there but the treatment I received was awesome! The nurses, Sharita and Kristen, were pleasant and comforting. Kristen and I even joked about the "Pretty Girl Names" video on the Boomer Diva TV site. The young ER doctor, who told my husband and me to call him TJ, was the absolute coolest. He makes me hope I live long enough for him to get his own practice. I will definitely do his PR!

This was quite a different experience from my last ER visit with my daughter. After waiting several hours, the attending physician admitted he didn't know what was wrong with her and prescribed an anti-biotic which I guess he thought was a cure-all for whatever was ailing her.

One thing I learned about this ER experience is that there are medical personnel who genuinely care about patients and take a lot of pride in their work and they really do want to get to the heart of the matter.

Thanks Durham Regional!