Mine is 10 to 1 during the day which might sound good but it isn't. All ten need assistance with something to get ready in morning. Getting dressed, brush teeth (if the aides do it), going to the bathroom, showering, etc. etc. How can one aide do this? If the aide is busy with one resident, the other nine are left unattended? How is this safe? If you want share the facility name I think would be great because if it is a good place, they should be recognized and if it is a bad place it should be known so others know where to stay away from.
#memorycare
In a private pay Memory Care residence, caregivers never shower residents first thing in the morning during busy times but put them on a schedule instead. Care conferences should be scheduled quarterly to discuss what's happening with the LO and any changes or concerns are brought up for discussion. In between conferences, I'd contact either the executive director or the head nurse to bring up questions or issues in a calm manner. They were always resolved quickly, and if not, I'd send another email or make a call. If the MC my mother lived at had nothing but issues forcing me to constantly feel upset and escalate that upset, I'd have moved her to one of the other myriad facilities available.
The caregivers at moms MC genuinely loved her and cared for her beautifully. Was everything perfect? Of course not, nothing ever is. But the pros of this MC outweighed the cons, is what it boiled down to. If your LOs facility's cons outweigh it's pros, consider looking for a better run MC that is NOT corporate owned, preferably. Mom's was privately owned and MUCH easier to deal with because there was no corporate red tape to cut thru. The ED made decisions on the spot, billing was done in the building, and all issues were resolved with no beurocracy to wade thru.
THen, if they are meeting regulations, see if you think the number of caregivers is adequate to meet the needs, and if they are doing a reasonable job.
If not, its easy for us to say "move to a better Memory Care place". The hard part of that is that, sometimes the better staffed places with better reputations might have long wait lists. Then you need to decide whether to get on that waitlist and wait.
for now, see what you can do with speaking with the facility staff. Will they let you get your own personal aide for part of the day to provide some extra care if needed?
* Often, facilities have difficulties hiring enough care providers. (I believe it is happening all over the country - this shortage of staffing)
* They may not be trained well nor supervised well
* Ask about supervision/follow-up training to ensure (proper) care is given.
* Hire your own caregiver as you can (1-2 hours several times a week) or get volunteers to assist your loved one.
* Keep a journal of care / needs: date, time, who, when, what.
* Take photos as you can
* As needed, report the facility to the licensing board. (I did this).
- First, try to work with an Ombudsman to 'work out the deficient care'
Gena / Touch Matters
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I pay dearly for that ratio.
The facility looks very pretty and they do a 'decent' job of keeping the facility clean but that's all they care about and that's where it ends.