Is this the normal
My SO was admitted to a memory care facility about 3 mths ago In talking to staff I am told my SO spends the majority of their time sitting in their room either watching TV or just staring at the walls . When I ask what is done to encourage them to engage in activities I am told its up to them to decide if they want to join in. Ive also noticed things like the bed linen not being changed for weeks at a time thus requiring me to change it on one of my visits. Likewise Ive noticed when my SO has asked me to do some laundry the amount of clothing handed to me suggests they are wearing the same things for days at a time. Should the facility staff be ensuring that personal grooming, hygiene and cleanliness are being undertaken on a regular basis or am I expecting to much.
Comments
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You are certainly not expecting too much to want clean linens and clothing and good hygiene. That is basic care. The MC I chose for my DH had everything on a schedule from bed linen changes to which days of the week they would get him showered. They helped him change his clothes as often as they could but with incontinence it was necessary to do that quite often.
As far as encouraging participation in activities, in my opinion, that is part of the reason we choose MC facilities over nursing homes. I observed the staff at the MC bringing most everyone out of their rooms every day, first to eat, then bringing them to the activity room or to one of the living rooms with a TV to be around other people. If someone chose not to participate and go back to their room, of course they can’t force it. But there should be some attempt to get them out of the room for part or most of the day. It also gave them a chance to change the bedding and clean the room. I’m not sure what to tell you to do except talk to the staff about your concerns and raise it to higher level staff if you have to.3 -
I agree with Annie51. My DW has been on MC for a little over 2 months now. The staff does get them out of their rooms each morning after changing clothes and oral hygiene attempts. My DW gets a shower twice a week and the rooms are cleaned daily. The linens look clean to me but not sure how often they are changed. What I have learned is you have to be your LO’s advocate and speak up if there is something not being done. We pay a lot of money each month and should expect our LO’s are being cared for. If they can’t do what you ask, I’d start looking around elsewhere.
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I am sorry that you are going though this. I know your anxiety and frustration very well.
My DH was in MC for several months and we/I had much the same experience as what you are going through. He stayed in his room most of the time with very little interest in going to activities. The activity director would kindly visit him once a week and spend one-on-one time with him, but there was not a lot he was interested in doing. In this particular facility, the caregiver to resident ratio was too high (2 aides to 16 residents) for them to be able to complete their tasks, which included laundry, so I began to take his laundry home and do it myself. There was too much laundry for them to do and everyone's clothes would pile up in the laundry room, so some of his clothing frequently disappeared. They also rarely changed the sheets on his bed, so I began to do that as well.
I have no words of wisdom for you, other than to try speaking with someone in administration, but I wanted you to know that what is happening with your LO is not unusual. If there are adult care homes in your vicinity, you may want to look into them. After five months in that MC, I finally moved him to a very small care home and both of us are happier. He gets close kind attention, visits the common areas, eats better, and his clothes are clean and not missing.
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Thankyou for your commments. It really is disapointing that one has to be constantly following up and questioning memory care facility staff about basic care needs. Like you I thought placing my SO in a facility that offered programs and 24hr support was the right decison as I couldnt provide the necessay care but now I really wonder. Whats even more disapointing is that when one raises issues after talking with my SO I either get no response or the issues are dismissed as "Oh is normal Its the disease." Where is the accountability??
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Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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