Friday, December 4, 2009

I'm ENRAGED and ready to complain to the state Dept of Health!!!!!!!!!

After visiting Mom this evening, there are not enough colorful adjectives to describe my anger at her ALF, the aids, the management -the whole kit & kaboodle.   As I entered her room the stench of urine was over whelming and just GROSE!  She said she'd noticed it that morning - which meant it smelled BAD all day.  All day and no one there thought to look for the problem? I immediately went looking for the source.   Her commode was in the shower, empty so I cleaned it. That didn't do the trick.  Looking around the bathroom, I noticed an odd looking plunger near the toilet and it bad bits of paper stuck to it.  I picked it up and a pile of wet tissue, poop and urine PLOPPED ONTO THE FLOOR!!   I was ready to blow up right there but didn't want to upset mom. 

This was no ordinary plunger, it's got a very long "bowl" portion that has all kinds of "folds" like an accordian - that means more places to hold urine, feces and tissue.  My first thought was "What a stupid plunger!!"  I just wanted this stench to stop so I filled the plunger with water and dumped it in the toilet - even MORE stuff came out of it.   I rinsed it 4 times until crap - LITERALLY CRAP - stopped coming out of it.   I left the pile on the floor and went down to the nursing station to demand that someone come clean it up -  NOW

The CNA on the floor  had no sense of urgency about cleaning it up which made me even more angry.  I approached her and said "I am ready to BLOW UP, I am so mad right now...."  I explained what I found and what I did.  I told them that the Executive Director should expect a call first thing on Monday.  I did not raise my voice. I didn't want to upset the other residents so I stayed very calm but it was hard, very hard. I was shaking, I was so mad.   I told her about the stench, I told her it had to be there since the morning and that I left a pile in the corner that should be cleaned up NOW.  I got the standard response, "I'll send an aide down there."

30 minutes later, there was no aid and I was even more angry - if that's possible.  I had to leave or I was going to say a LOT of things at decibel levels that everyone would regret.   I stormed down to the nurses station to demand an aide NOW or I was calling the state.  I told them that if it happened again, I'd call the state. This is a matter of health and safety not just bad smells!   What if they'd got it on the floor and Mom walked through it?   An aide followed me back to the room and began to clean while I told Mom good night.

On my way home I called my sister-in-law to vent, my brother answered and after hearing about this told me that there were two other occasions when he noticed the plunger and he cleaned it too.   It didn't "contain" anything but there was paper on it so he figured it needed a rinsing.   I am SO sorry that I selected such a large place for Mom.   There are over 100 residents in this place and it's about 40 too many.   They ned more help and help that is willing to do the dirty work of taking care of other humans.   It doesn't matter if they are old, young, rich or poor - there is poo, pee, vomit, tears, food, smelly feet - all kinds of things to do whether it's a baby or an Elder.   BOTH deserve better care and attention than this.

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