Obviously I am back from Vegas and The World Tea Expo. This post is just a little late... sorry for the delay. I personally had a fantastic time at the Expo. My dear husband on the other hand, I fear did not enjoy himself quite as much. However, I appreciate the fact that he went purely for me.
While away, I was thankful that I did not receive any phone calls from Brookwood regarding Muddear. There have been other occasions when taken to respite that Muddear is not enthusiastic about having to stay and becomes difficult. This was not one of those times. However, when I arrived to pick Muddear up, I became concerned.
First, I noticed that Muddear was wearing the same thing I dropped her off in - quite disconcerting. When I checked her clothes, I noticed that four (4) of the five outfits I brought for her were folded exactly the same way as when I unpacked them. I was livid! How is it that Muddear had not been changed for several days? When I questioned the staff, they lied and said that they knew for a fact that she had been changed. Her clothes were folded because they had been laundered. Of course, I said... "That is is not true - how would your laundry department know to fold her clothes exactly the way I had folded them when I left? Impossible!" So I asked to speak to the aide who dressed her for the day - Tuesday. She had not worked with Muddear over the weekend, therefore she could only speak for that day. When asked why Muddear was dressed in dirty clothes, the aide explained... "When I asked Ms. Flossie what she wanted to wear, she said she wanted to wear the outfit she now has on."
"Did you know that she has Dementia and would not have known that you were asking her to put on dirty clothes?"
"No, I didn't know that."
Of course, I asked to speak to the unit nurse. Once in the room, she too initially fed me a lie - however, I quickly discovered that she was simply repeating the lie that had been told to her. When I again explained the problem AS WELL AS the soiled nightgowns and underwear I found on the closet floor she changed her tune and advised that she would investigate the matter. She immediately agreed, especially when I reiterated my understanding of their policy, that dirty clothes are to be separated from clean clothes. Especially when soiled as they represent an infectious disease hazard. While we (Mike and I) finished packing Muddear's belongings the Unit Nurse returned to say that Muddear had not been dressed because she wanted to stay in her nightgowns. (Okay no problem.) Unfortunately, that did not explain the soiled gowns and underwear lying on the closet floor or the fact that she was dressed in dirty clothes - to wit I was told the aides would be reprimanded via a formal write-up of their performance. Although, I find it sad that the aide's are always the one's to receive the only reprimand. What about the nurses that enter the room to give meds and check vitals? Did they not notice the nasty clothes on the floor?
Nevertheless, I received a letter of apology - also advising that Muddear had not been bathed properly either. But I'm still pissed. While this is truly the first bad experience I've had with Brookwood it still does not negate the fact that Muddear should have had better care.
Things that make you go hmmmm...
