My dad has been in a memory care facility for 1 year now, and has adjusted well, he joins in on all of the activities, and he has a friend that he walks with every day. I recently returned from a 5-day vacation, first one without a backup to visit my dad at his memory care facility (usually I have one of my 2 sisters come into town and visit him as I usually do). Within a few days of my return, I had to take him to the hospital per the request of the on-duty med tech for rectal bleeding. After being evaluated at the hospital it was also discovered my dad was dehydrated. I usually visit him after dinner for a couple of hours about 5 times a week. During our visit I do have him drink 2 glasses of water and he has no issue with it.
I shared the discharge paperwork from the hospital with the director and head nurse and asked them for detail on their hydration program as that is one of the items they were proud of. They responded that there is a glass of water provided for every meal and every snack throughout the day which would be 6 glasses of water. They also stated that they don't force the residents to drink the water, which I understand. However, my dad has never refused a glass of water that I have provided him.
Is there anything I can ask the memory care facility to do to ensure my dad is receiving his water intake? I have a drs. note from his dr. stating that he needs 6-8 glasses of water a day.
Fwiw, my mother lived in Memory Care for 3 yrs refusing to drink any liquids but coffee, a diuretic, the whole time. She was dehydrated a few times when she went to the ER, but told them the same thing she told me: water made her pee and that was too big an aggravation for her to deal with, with Depends and everything.
Mom died at 95+ of nothing dehydration related. I also brought her lots of sweets and junk food. These elders have nothing to live for, with dementia wreaking havoc on them. Let dad be. If drinking less water causes his life to be shortened by a month or two, so be it. I prayed daily for God to take my mother out of her misery, tbh.
Good luck to you.
In the end, if the facility is understaffed, they can only do so much per resident. Six to 8 glasses of water a day seems like a lot for a senior. My 96-year physically active Mom barely drinks anything in the course of a day: 1 cup of coffee for breakfast, a 1/2 can of Coke for lunch and small glass of Pellegrino or beer or wine with dinner. No liquids after than. Maybe she drinks a tiny glass when she takes her few pills in the morning. She's done this for decades.
were actually deaths by dehydration because the nursing home was so short of staff. i.e. The resident tested positive for Covid, the nursing home was extremely understaffed and the resident died. The CNA thought a lot of these deaths were due to dehydration because she could not get around to every resident with water.
Sometimes the CNA's don't have the time to push fluids.
My Mom was in LTC most of the day in the common room. She was given something to drink by an aide. When I went back to her room one time, the aide was filling up a Styrofoam cup with ice and water. I asked her why? My Mom is out in the common area till bedtime.
I think if everyone of us went to the hospital, they would say we are dehydrated. I don't drink water. I don't crave drinks at all. I have something with my meals but rarely drink in between. I have to force myself to have a bottle of water next to me when home.
I first would do my best to put a plan in place with the powers that be in the facility and see what they do to help your dad.
Juicy fruits help with hydration, like oranges, watermelon, or cantaloupe. He sounds like he's doing great, so I wouldn't push anything on him.