I chose this place for my mother because when she was in the Fulton Hospital, I was told it was either Fulton Nursing and Rehab or a facility in Moberly which was 60 miles away. I am from out of State and wanted her to close to family and friends who could watch out for her while I searched out a place to bring her. My first visit to see her was so depressing. They had her in a locked geriatrics ward. She was the only one on the ward who seemed normal, although she had memory problems. The other patients were all either in wheelchairs and just staring in space in the halls, drooling and looking hopeless, or wandering up and down the halls and trying to get out. Although I had Power of Attorney, they never once called me or let me know of anything going on with my Mother. I found out through a friend who checked on her that she quit eating and that she had a bladder infection and was confused, and they were treating her, and not once did they call and tell me. I had to ask them constantly what medication she was on. Even though she suffered from Diarrhea, they continued to give her colace (stool softeners) and Senna (natural laxatives) at night. She became dehydrated, delusional and I only heard this from a friend, because they didn't tell me unless I called. If I asked the nurses if she had been taken off of Colace, it would depend on which nurse I spoke with--one would say yes, another would say no. I tried to come back to get her once and bring her back with me, which they were aware I was going to do when I found a place for her, but when I arrived, I got a call from the facility I had found saying they spoke with the head nurse who said she MUST BE LOCKED UP because she was a runaway risk and therefore they could not take her. This was after I had driven 800 miles to pick her up, so I had to leave her there again. It was the last time I saw her in half way normal state. It was after this that she became worse, and was even mistreated by a staff member. On my final trip to pick her up, I asked that her hair be styled so that I could bring her back looking nice. When I arrived, she was hiding in her bed with covers up over her head, because one of the staff, the oriental girl, had given her a shower and washed her hair when she had begged her not to. She said she cried so loud for her not to wash her hair that some of the other patients came to the shower door (the patients who are really not even thinking normally) and kept saying through the door "Please don't hurt her. Don't hurt her." It is a rule that if the patient does not want her hair washed, or a shower they are not to be forced. It is obvious that she was forced by this employee out of spite because I was coming to get her and had gotten into words with one of the other staff members before I got there about another matter in trying to get her discharged. When asked why she did this, the employee smiled big and said she had to because she had soup in her hair. My mother is a very neat eater, sits in the corner of the dining room with no one behind her and I have never even seen her get a drop of food on her clothes. I made a complaint to the owner and he told me that he would never tolerate that behavior and of course would look into it. That was in October, 2011. I have written letters and made phone calls and NO ONE will tell me anything. I have asked if the complaint board has met, if she is still an employee and no one will even give me the time of day. The Doctor/owner I talked with is NEVER in when I call, once they find out who is on the phone.
On one of my visits there, my mother told me we had to go to her room quickly because they were going to have "recreation" and I didn't know why we HAD to leave. She said all the patients had to go their rooms when they played 'Noodle Ball." Come to find out the recreation for these geriatric patients was a game called Noodle Ball in the hallway. Anyone not wanting to participate must go to their room, which was everyone but two male staff members who threw a ball back and forth to each other. I could not believe this was supposed to be the "recreation" of these people who would be terrified of being hit by a ball, much less expected to catch one. Most are in wheelchairs or walkers and none capable of this game.
On the day before we moved her out, we started packing her things and taking them to the car, and her roommate, who had been moaning in pain the week I was there, was lying in the bed moaning in pain as usual. I could not believe there was NOT ONE PERSON ON THE WARD to care for her. The nurses station was empty, and everyone was in the dining room helping feed the patients. I looked for someone to come help her roommate, but could not find anyone, because there was NO ONE WORKING ON ANY OF THE WARDS! I told my friend that it was appalling to see this poor woman being neglected. I even asked one of the aids at one point during the week if she was on hospice since no one seemed to take care of her and she said she was though I never saw hospice come in. My mother would go over and cover her up with a blanket to keep her warm. This was on a Sunday night and I was taking Mom out the next day, and the whole week I had watched and listened to this lady suffering in the room with my Mom. It reminded me of an insane institution the way the patients were and the way they were treated--only not one where they were treated humanely. Mom had things stolen while she was there as well. We made several loads to the car and never saw anyone from the staff. The next day I told the doctor about their not being any staff to watch out for the patient that was Mom's roommate and he told me that wasn't possible, because someone was always at the nurses' station, and I assured him that there was not because I was there going back and forth at least 45 minutes taking clothes to the car. He said they may have been helping other patients and I told him no, because I had looked for someone when Ruby sounded like she was dying. The head of nurses was in the meeting, and later when I saw her she told me that they had moved mom's roommate out because mom was having company and they didn't want her to disturb the company, which was interesting since we had been visiting for a week, and weren't visiting anymore but leaving with Mom. I just looked at her like what? I didn't get it. Then as we were leaving with Mom I saw several couples who seemed to be in mourning and I overheard someone say that a patient had died. When I asked someone who it was, I found out it was my mother's roommate. Her nieces and nephews were there because she had died, and they were from out of town. I thought....she must have died last night for them to have gotten here now..and they moved her because she died and they didn't want me to know since I complained that she was neglected. How interesting.
I had already talked to several people that I knew who had worked there themselves and told me that I had Mom in the worse place in Fulton, but there was nothing I could do at that point. I got her out as quickly as I could. My mother is much worse now and I believe that it is partly due to her months of being in that horrible place. she worked as an aid at the State Hospital for years and couldn't stand the way some of the other aids treated the patients. She is a really loving, kind person, and I think she thought she was a patient in the state hospital while she was there. I KNOW that at least one person was cruel to her, the lady who made her feel ugly. I do not recommend this place to anyone.
As for the food, I sat in the dining room with her and all she would eat was grilled cheese sandwiches, and I don't blame her because it looked like slop. I watched the aides, and the oriental lady in particular, sit at a table with patients who couldn't feed themselves starting off into space and not helping them eat. It made me sick to see the way these people were. The kitchen help is just people they hire from the streets, not nutritionists, and there are nurses and aids going outside all the time to smoke cigarettes. They put the patients to bed starting at 5:30pm in the evenings because they didn't want to be bothered. Now this is on the Medicaid side, or Medicaid Pending. Mom had medicare paying for up to 90 days, but I can tell you they pulled it on me when they were mad at me, and I believe (and think I could prove it) they did it out of spite before her 90 days were up.
My mother is now in a very nice place. The food is prepared by a nutritionist. She never asks for a grilled cheese sandwich. They have music and activities, and do not have the staff playing "Noodle Ball" and I am there as late as I want to be to see her. She still keeps saying things like, they will get mad if you do that, until she remembers she is NOT in that bad place anymore and that everyone here is nice.
I gave them a 1 rating only because I was afraid that it wouldn't take if I didn't rate them at all...but in my opinion, they are run by people who care only for the money, and not for the patients, and that from what i see of the people working there, the ones that might care are too afraid they will lose their jobs to step up to the plate and tell the truth on the bad eggs. The bad ones are just smiling and thinking they are getting away with murder, and in my opinion, they are. That poor patient that shared my mother's room died a horrible, lonely, neglected end with very little empathy from the staff that I could see. I am glad that her family was unaware of the end of her life. The way they were acting to the family as I left was as if they were so sorry and had cared for her so much, when I doubt they were aware she died, except that maybe they became aware she was no longer moaning in constant pain. This place should be closed down for its inhumanity. However, I am a believer that was goes round comes round...and we all grow old.
by VintageRed
February 26, 2012
