Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

My mom just started short-term rehab in a nursing home for hip fractures, so her mobility is limited. Any tips for helping her succeed in nursing home care? I am especially looking for ways to ensure the staff is attentive as possible, so she can heal up & get back home.

So, far, we've had issues with getting a mattress for the bed (they told her she needed a different one, took the one she had & never returned until I asked, 7 hours later (after work) for one). There was a dirty latex glove on the floor in the room & I've seen stray wrappers from medical equipment dropped in the hall. This worries me, aside for sanitary reasons, that these may cause a resident to fall! I'm just not sure how & who to approach about all of this. I don't want mom to get hurt!

Thanks in advance.

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Which nursing home is she in?

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Make yourself very visible, show up at different times. Introduce yourself to the nursing supervisors on the floor (different shifts). Stay on top of any issue (like the mattress) and don't be afraid to keep on calling, at any time day or night. Find out who her attending doctor is and speak to him/her regularly. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you have major issues there's always the State department of health complaint hotline (watch the staff jump when you mention that one).

I spent much of my career working in nursing homes, and i'm sad to say many of them are just awful. I just went through an experience with my own uncle at a nursing home i'm affiliated with, and despite having some "pull", his nursing care left much to be desired. Rehab in most facilities is usually great (but maybe i'm biased cause i'm a therapist).

Best wishes for your mom for a very speedy recovery!

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

It also helps to get involved with the social work dept.

Be forewarned though that it's been my experience that not everyone who works for a nursing home and has the title of social worker, is an actual social worker.

Also if you FM, I've dealt with all most all of the nursing homes at one point or another between LI, NYC and even Upstate and out of state (I did discharge planning moving clients out of nursing homes into the community) so know A LOT of people who work at them.

Lastly, if you have a serious complaint, calling the DOH helps.

I did something similar once not realizing who exactly I was calling when a nursing home refused to give me meds for a client that was discharged to the community that they already billed for, yet she didn't take yet ;).

They got in a ton of trouble and those meds were released right away.

One of the RNs I worked with who used to work in a facility said a lot of these places recycle them for other patients.....


ETA: Either going in person and/or emailing the social worker is also a good way to stay on top of things and keep a good paper trail. I know they are very busy people too which is why they may not get back to you right away. You can also request family meetings. A lot of nursing homes, the SW staff are expected to work at least one evening and one weekend day (or rotating schedule).

Message edited 2/26/2014 5:18:08 AM.

Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

No offense to any social workers out there (because I know all the good ones are on here ), but anytime I have dealt with a social worker at a nursing home it was a complete waste of time. I went directly to the CEO. He had a town hall type of meeting. Went up, introduced myself. From then on, when ever I was in his office, he knew there was a problem. I didn't go to him with ALL of the issues. Just the ones that I felt needed to be addressed. Not having diapers in the room when needed, food be ice cold upon delivery.

Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

unfortunately, my family has had a lot of experience dealing with nursing homes & rehab centers. I agree with making yourself visible often, stopping by and speaking with the nurses/aides/doctors whenever you visit. Also, ask for a meeting with the social worker and address your concerns. We've had to do that quite a few times. We have had "team meeting" where we met with the social workers, dr, nurses, etc to make sure relatives were getting the best quality care. ASk for progress reports, plans of action, etc.
Hope your mom has a speddy recovery!

Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Be as visible as possible
Those that get the best care generally are those who have attentive family members who drop in often

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Just curious, is this in Woodmere? I ask b/c my mom went to a rehab in Woodmere and it was THE WORST place ever. Disgusting, depressing (she was the youngest one there-it was more like a nursing home than rehab), rude workers, ants in her food. Just awful.

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

My dad was in one shortly before he died for under a year. First thing is first, make sure you and/or family members are there at different times. As someone had mentioned, introduce yourself to the nurses, and supervisors on staff when your there. Get names, it is helpful. I was VERY active in his care as well as my mom. My mom was there in the morning and I was there at night. I knew everyone and sometimes I came at different times to check in on them.


Also, find out when the medication is giving, how often, meal times, and therapy times. Take note of all of this.

I plan to become a licensed social worker soon and I can say that most social workers in nursing homes have been awful and unhelpful. Makes me wonder how they even got the job and continue to carry out their duties. So that being said, introduce yourself to the social worker and get their name. Usually there is one for each floor.

Next, each nursing home does a review of the resident/patient for insurance purposes/goals/and exit from nursing home to community each month. You should be invited to attend these meetings, if you can't be there asked to be phoned in. They usually take under 30 minutes.

Also make sure you see your mother's progress. See if her mobility is improving. Keep her mind alive and see if there are any recreation activities she could enjoy while she is there.

If you are not satisfied by something, YOU NEED to speak up. Ask to speak to the nursing supervisor if the floor is dirty and/unsafe and don't leave until it gets done. OR call until you get a final answer.

You can always call the administrator if the nurse supervisor, and/or social worker doesn't help with your needs.

Lastly, when it is time for a discharge. Make sure your mom is entitled for services like home care and find out what agency they used, and how long the services will be set up. Sometimes, in my personal experience they seem to discharge residents when it's not a safe discharge and you and your mother have the right to disagree if you don't feel safe with the decision. PLEASE remember that.

Lastly, if things don't improve and you went to the administrator, report them to the Dept of Health and as well as the ombudsman whose information will be listed usually on the first floor or ask the social worker for this information.

Please FM me if you should have any questions.

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Thank you so much for thr great ideas and support, everyone!

I've been going every day after work & have asked people from her church to pop in during the day to check in on her.

The social worker doesn't check email, but thankfully it turns out she starts early enough so I can reach her before I start work.

Next step is finding out her therapy & medication schedule, and trying to arrange some sort of diversions for her.
I also have to convince the people in admissions, etc. that she is competent & can manage her own admissions paperwork, etc. I am happy to helpwhith whatever she needs, but they have made the assumption , solely based upon her age, that she is not able to do it for herself. That's purely psychological cruelty. Tell her she can't often enough, and maybe she'll start to believe it...

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Posted by Mom-of-one

Thank you so much for thr great ideas and support, everyone!

I've been going every day after work & have asked people from her church to pop in during the day to check in on her.

The social worker doesn't check email, but thankfully it turns out she starts early enough so I can reach her before I start work.

Next step is finding out her therapy & medication schedule, and trying to arrange some sort of diversions for her.
I also have to convince the people in admissions, etc. that she is competent & can manage her own admissions paperwork, etc. I am happy to helpwhith whatever she needs, but they have made the assumption , solely based upon her age, that she is not able to do it for herself. That's purely psychological cruelty. Tell her she can't often enough, and maybe she'll start to believe it...


You should also document everything that you can. For instance, her medicine schedule, her feedings, the times you talk to staff, and any issues that may arise.

Admissions shouldn't assume she is incompetent and that is something you can bring to the social worker's attention to. Actually, your mother SHOULD be the first one to speak to. I would ask to speak to the Admissions Director and say that your mother is competent, coherent and able to understand what is being said to her. It's really discriminatory when they do this.

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

I am a licensed social worker and worked in a nursing home for a while. It was tough because my caseload was very high and it was very demanding, but I always did my best to accommodate every family/patient.

Whenever I couldn't accommodate someone for whatever reason, I would get the Director of Social Services involved. But honestly the social worker is really the first point of contact (at least in my experience). If I couldn't help the patient/family, I would make sure I got them to the correct dept that could help them.

As far as therapy, definitely find out who her therapists are and stay in touch with them. You can even go to the therapy sessions if you have time to find out what they are doing, etc.

She should have a nurse that she primarily works with who is in charge of any medications, etc. and you should be able to follow-up daily with this person(s). Also the cna (nursing assistant/aide) usually has a lot of contact with the patient and you can get a lot of information from them as well.

Sometimes it does help to speak with the Administrator of the nursing home if you are not getting anywhere with the staff. It really depends on the place. I was lucky enough to work in a pretty good one so that rarely happened. But you have to do whats best for your mom.

Anyway- hope I helped and I hope your mom gets very good care! Unfortunately sometimes you do need to follow-up and make sure things get done even though you shouldn't have to.

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Re: Tips for dealing with nursing homes?

Posted by hcsf

No offense to any social workers out there (because I know all the good ones are on here ), but anytime I have dealt with a social worker at a nursing home it was a complete waste of time. I went directly to the CEO. He had a town hall type of meeting. Went up, introduced myself. From then on, when ever I was in his office, he knew there was a problem. I didn't go to him with ALL of the issues. Just the ones that I felt needed to be addressed. Not having diapers in the room when needed, food be ice cold upon delivery.