It didn't happen.
Masonic backed out and refused to take him because we don't have a "plan" of what we're going to do with him after the 15 days are up. We have to have a facility that will take him lined up already before we can get him into Masonic.
The catch-22 is that
- No one wants to take him without an evaluation. (And it seems clear that the hospital he is at is not capable of doing so, despite what we were told.)
- No one wants to take him because he's so violent.
- No one wants to take him because he'll be on Title 19. And of course all these places have waiting lists a mile long. My dad doesn't have a mile to wait.
I don't even know where to start to go to someone for help.
7 comments:
Oh my goodness! Please contact the Adult Protective Services in your city. Get a case worker to help you. Find out what hospitals have psychiatric wards and if they can take your father. Find out who your father's doctor is and raise the blanking roof! Be sure to file a complaint against this hospital too! He should be getting CARE not being stored until the paper-pushers get their act together! What about your father's primary care physician? Have they been contacted to even get your father's medical records?
This is the time to call out the troops. Be sure to document all that has happened at the hospital. Get your friends to help you with anything they can. If nothing else, alert the media (and I am not EVEN kidding).
Sending you and your family all my love and positive energy.
Bert,
I'm so sorry to hear all this. I also wonder if the nearest Alzheimer's Association could help. There's also the Alzheimer's Foundation of America - their hotline number is 866-232-8484. One last thought, Connecticut probably has a Department of Elder Affairs or Department of Aging - maybe they can help. Maybe you've already tried all these things - I hope they are useful suggestions.
An attorney specializing in elder law might also be helpful, but I don't know how much that would cost.
And lastly, take care of yourself!
Mona
Bert,
One more thought - if your dad was in the military at some point, it may be the Veteran's Administration can help...
Good luck...
Mona
How horrible. I wish I could say that this is unbelievable, but I certainly do believe it. I feel not only for you, your dad and your family but also for the healthcare workers. Yes, some of them are stupid and incompetent. And some of them are trying to do the right thing with what little information and resources they have. How disgusting and sad that this is what our healthcare system is. And it can happen anywhere, at any hospital. You are right, most practitioners have NO IDEA that Alzheimer's is a BRAIN DISEASE.
Our only hope now is that the mighty "baby boom" generation will finally pay attention to this disease and demand that research and treatment (a cure?) become more widely available.
How horrible. I wish I could say that this is unbelievable, but I certainly do believe it. I feel not only for you, your dad and your family but also for the healthcare workers. Yes, some of them are stupid and incompetent. And some of them are trying to do the right thing with what little information and resources they have. How disgusting and sad that this is what our healthcare system is. And it can happen anywhere, at any hospital. You are right, most practitioners have NO IDEA that Alzheimer's is a BRAIN DISEASE.
Our only hope now is that the mighty "baby boom" generation will finally pay attention to this disease and demand that research and treatment (a cure?) become more widely available.
Bert,
Take Marvel's and Mona's advice seriously. As I was reading through the posts on this horror of a situation, I also was wondering, WHERE IS THIS MAN'S PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN? If s/he doesn't have privileges at the hospital in which your father is languishing, s/he should still be able to raise holy hell and get something done by phone...or advise you on how to do so; AS WELL AS GETTING HIM TRANSFERRED TO A HOSPITAL IN WHICH S/HE HAS PRIVILEGES. It also occurred to me, as well as Marvel, that Adult Protective Services (or whatever it's called in your area) should be able to rally an intervention. You may have to be exceedingly firm with them, social service agencies are notoriously understaffed and overworked, but this is not a time for politeness.
I agree, too, with Marvel that the media would be an excellent witness and should be interested because Alzheimer's and eldercare is ALL OVER THE NEWS, NOW! A local story of a person mishandled by the pros would be right up their alley. As well, they would be excellent witnesses and excellent recorders of all the details, past and present, of the story.
LET THE HOSPITAL KNOW YOU ARE DOCUMENTING THEIR TREATMENT OF YOUR DAD, FROM THE TIME HE WAS BROUGHT IN. The hospital should also have a department of social workers/liaisons. Go there and raise holy hell. AFTER you contact the media (and let the media know you are doing the following so they will be more inclined to follow your side of the story than the hospital's) go to the hospital's PR department (I'm betting they have one...I used the PR department of a hospital once to get better care for my mother, and it worked, fairly well, anyway) and let them know you've contacted the media. This should get their ass in gear.
If and when this begins to be resolved, ATTACK THE MASONS! My father was a Mason, a Shriner, in fact, and I am appalled at their hand washing in this situation. If nothing else, MAKE THEM AWARE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN TO THEM, TOO, SOMEDAY IF THEY DON'T GET THEIR ASSES IN GEAR!
As well as Marvel's and Mona's you've got all my love and positive energy, too.
Eat as often as you can, take as good care of yourself as is possible, and remember, in this situation, IT TRULY IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF SO THAT YOU CAN BE THERE TO PROTECT YOUR PARENTS (I'm thinking of your mother, here, too)!
Also, keep in mind...IT IS OBVIOUS THAT YOUR FATHER IS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS RECEIVING TREATMENT SUCH AS THIS. IF WE DON'T FIGHT BACK WHEN THIS KIND OF TREATMENT AFFECTS OUR RELATIVES ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, THIS KIND OF TREATMENT WILL NOT BE STOPPED!
Power, power, power to you...I'm in a good position, right now...SUCK ALL THE POWER YOU CAN OUT OF ME AND USE IT TO YOU FAMILY'S GOOD!
I just happened to think, regarding contacting the media. Here in Arizona there is at least one local affiliate (not sure to which national chain they are connected) who has a "[Station Number] On Your Side" segment. They solicit people who are having problems with businesses and or government, advertise the problem and then go out of their way to help solve the problem. Check to see if there are any affiliates covering your area (they may be semi-local, that is out of the larger metropolitan area closest to you, if you live in an "outlying area")...call the stations directly if necessary to find out...and try going through a service such as this to solicit additional monitoring and help with the situation. These media set-ups are ALWAYS looking for sensational and community apt problems in which to intercede. Yes, it is to make them look good, but use this to your advantage. Your situation is certainly nothing less than sensation and community apt!
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