Long Term Healthcare Denial...

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I have a family member that suffered a second stroke in mid-August. After going through rehab and while processing the transfer to the rehab center’s long term care unit, they denied her transfer due to a review I made on a google website. I gave a one-star review due to the quality of care had diminished since she’s been there. She’s been back in the hospital twice, the first time was for alleged chest pain, but my family member cannot speak due to the stroke and has muscle spasms in her arms so she can’t do hand/arm gestures. There would have been no possible way she told the nurses/CNA she has chest pain. Second time in the hospital was for low blood pressure and bacterial infection. The low blood pressure was caused by the nurses giving anti-depressants to “calm her down” because she moans and groans ever since the stroke. On 10/8/17, I arrived to the facility around 4pm to see my family member’s water bag for the feeding tube empty because it wasn’t connected correctly and leaked all over the floor, which also had electrical wires, that were soaked in the water which is a safety hazard. Upon notifying the nurses, their response was slow. After all that, I submitted an online review on their google page detailing the lack of attention to detail, lack of quality care and very inattentive staff. Since the review was submitted, the social worker denied the transition to their long term care unit because of the review I made. Now, there were other one star reviews besides mine, so there is no telling who else they may have kicked out due to one star reviews.
 
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Is this the only longterm facility available? If you are suspect about their care I would look at another facility. LTFs are sadly overworked and understaffed.
 
Contact the Florida State Agency that is over rehabilitation facilities, the Agency for Health Care Administration (http://ahca.myflorida.com/contact/index.shtml), and speak with a facility inspector, ask for guidance, and consider filing a complaint regarding the facility (and making the facility aware you have contacted the agency that licenses & inspects them).

I did this in Nebraska for a relative when the Alzheimer's facility she was in would not let me choose the hospice provider I wanted, and threatened to evict her. Talk about getting on the most favored client list...

Good luck.
 
Best wishes to you at this difficult time.
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When my grandparents were in nursing homes the staff were stealing things from her room. We confronted them and were asked to remove my grandparents from that home. We ended up moving them and suing the home and won. It was an uphill battle but we proved it using a private investigator.

Not the same situation as you but I can understand the fight and it not being fair.
 
Low blood pressure was not from antidepressants.... That can be stated quite surely. Low blood pressure etiology very likely may have been from bacterial infection. Which means she was quite sick indeed. That circumstance could have easily taken her right out of here. Terrible circumstances there. I feel bad for you being in a very tough place.

I will say that you may well should be grateful she did not get into their LTC section. If their skilled unit was so jacked up like it was OBVIOUSLY... Long term care would very likely have been even worse. Not good at all. That lady did you a favor. Trifling. Yes. But may have well been a good thing.
 
Sorry for your relative's health problems, it sounds like a bad situation. Honestly have to wonder about the wisdom of posting a negative review while she was still in care there. In hindsight maybe dealing with the situation privately then going social media after you moved her to a better facility? Hope it gets better for her.
 
When my grandmother had a stroke we took her in. But after several rounds of her having to be hospitalized and then returning here it was obvious that she needed medical care that was beyond what we could deliver here in our home. Her doctor recommended a nursing home / senior care center that she ended up living at for more than 20 years. They took very good care of her and we visited her several time a week. She lived to be 102.75 years old before she passed.

Doctors and other medical care people can often be a good lead on what nursing homes / senior care centers are the best places to go to even when the persons financial and medical coverage are limited.

As for the place she is being kicked out of, it sounds like you should be contacting a good lawyer and suing them.
 
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Sadly these kind of things happen. My mother worked as a nurse for a hospice. She loved her work and took pride in her job but she's seen a lot of things. It's sad stuff like this still happens. I remember once back when I was 16-18 she found out about something. Went to her bosses boss and it caused a lot of problems which resulted in her being let go shortly after.
 
Originally Posted By: chemman
Contact the Florida State Agency that is over rehabilitation facilities, the Agency for Health Care Administration (http://ahca.myflorida.com/contact/index.shtml), and speak with a facility inspector, ask for guidance, and consider filing a complaint regarding the facility (and making the facility aware you have contacted the agency that licenses & inspects them).

I did this in Nebraska for a relative when the Alzheimer's facility she was in would not let me choose the hospice provider I wanted, and threatened to evict her. Talk about getting on the most favored client list...

Good luck.
This is your answer. The AHCA oversees health care regulation in Florida. Believe me, once they get involved you will have the undivided attention of the healthcare facility. If you really want to mess with their minds contact a lawyer who specializes in nursing home lawsuits. If he can prove care was denied because you complained of inadequate care and that they did in fact fail to provide proper care the pucker factor just went up astronomically.
 
Yep, I went through something similar, although it had nothing to do with a Goggle review, just not good care. Once the regulating authority gets involved, things will improve drastically. Its also the right thing to do to contact the authority, because it helps not just the one patient, but all of them. Once they know they're under the microscope, they straighten up in a hurry, and the care quality for everybody improves. I saw a night and day difference in my case.
 
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Originally Posted By: BrownBox88
Since the review was submitted, the social worker denied the transition to their long term care unit because of the review I made.


The social worker told you that?

Very unprofessional...
 
It's a licensure type -- LCSW and CMSW for people involved in coordinating care, counseling, assistance with navigating the healthcare options, etc.. They are an essential component in the healthcare continuum but usually do not have the authority for discharge/admission like the OP is describing. That's something that an MD determines if they determine that the patient is done with acute care and needs long term care.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Originally Posted By: BrownBox88
Since the review was submitted, the social worker denied the transition to their long term care unit because of the review I made.


The social worker told you that?

Very unprofessional...


Yes, told it to my face when she called me into the office, "due to the review you made on google, your aunt will no longer be accepted in our long term care unit". She was transferred to the new facility yesterday, and the business manager for the place we were leaving was telling me that my aunt was being transferred to their LTC unit. She had no clue that my aunt was being kicked out.
 
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