Communication with an Alzheimer’s patient is challenging at
best and nonexistent at worst. Communication with an Alzheimer’s nursing home
is also challenging but should never be nonexistent.
Dad’s nursing home is constantly communicating with me about
Dad’s condition and situation in the nursing home. A few weeks ago the nursing
home advised me that Dad would be temporarily moved to a room next door so that
his room could be renovated. A couple of days later the nursing home advised me
that Dad had fallen and cut his forehead (2 centimeters) in his old room.
Alzheimer’s patients do not do well with change; their life patterns must
remain as constant as possible so as not to distress the patient and to keep
the patient as safe as possible. Dad’s cut has healed and is doing fine.
Another method the nursing home uses to communicate with me
and family members is to hold quarterly “care” meetings. At these meetings we
(family members) are updated by the unit nurse, social services director,
activities director, and other staff members about Dad’s condition. We are able
to ask questions, make recommendations, brainstorm ideas, etc. in our joint efforts
to maintain Dad’s quality of life at the highest level possible.
Our last care meeting was held on August 22nd.
Following are some of the updates we received:
- Dad had an x-ray done due to the fall the previous week. There were no fractures, only mild abrasions and contusions. He is under observation to make sure there is no evidence of a concussion.
- Dad still thinks he can get up on his own and walk around the facility whenever he wants. He never developed a pattern of using a walker so the idea never presents itself to use one. He must be assisted by a CNA or other person or be reminded to use a wheelchair or walker for support. (This is an on-going communication challenge.)
- He is weighted once a month and has shown a gain from 123 lbs. to 126 lbs. He eats well for someone his age and he takes protein supplements with each meal. If he looses a drastic amount of weight they will weight him more often, otherwise he is stable for now.
- Dad has been moved to room 3B from room 1A while renovations are taking place. We may just keep him in 3B if he seems to get used to being there however if he continues to go back to room 1A then we will put him back there once renovations are completed.
After the care meeting, Shelley and I went to visit with Dad
but all he wanted to do was sleep. He said he was tired and just wanted to go
back to sleep. So we said goodbye, gave him kisses and let him sleep.
Within 48 hours of the care meeting I receive a call from
the Social Services Director to advise me that Dad had been moved again! This
time he had been moved to room 27 on the other side of the facility. The reason
given for the move was his roommate was being hostile with Dad so was moved for
safety concerns.
I went to see Dad the next day and I could clearly see that
Dad was not doing well at all with the latest move. His behavior and speech was
erratic and seemed very agitated (see the video below; he even took my camera from me, something he has never done previously). I spoke with his nurse and she agreed Dad
should not have been moved for a third time.
The next day, Sunday, I called the nursing home for an
explanation for the third move and I demanded that he be placed back in his
previous room for his safety’s sake and if his roommate was causing problems to
then move the roommate and not Dad. After nearly an hour of conversations with
three different persons, I was told someone would get back to me. I received a
call back and was promised Dad would be moved back to his room that afternoon.
Even though the staff was able to accommodate my demand, I
now had some concerns about the nursing home’s ability to handle Alzheimer’s
patients and requested a meeting with the nursing home’s administrator on
Monday morning.
On Monday morning, Shelley, Bruce and I met with the nursing
home administrator and the nurse I had spoken with on Sunday. We expressed our
concerns and a half hour later we were reassured that Dad’s best interests are
first priority. The administrator even gave us his cell number so we could
contact him on a 24/7 basis if needed, which is reassuring. At the end of the
meeting we agreed to strive to communicate more effectively with one another
despite the challenges.
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