Wondering Resident

I had been at my mom's place a few times recently and one of those times I noticed a women wondering the halls calling out for a boy or man's name. She was trying to open the window and other resident's doors. I thought it was rather strange especially because the facility my mom lives in does not have memory care. Obviously, residents have memory issues but nobody is full on dementia. When things progress for seniors as far as memory they are asked to move to another facility as they are not equipped to handle those types of issues at the location she resides in.

I walked the halls looking for a nurse or aid and could not find anyone. I assume they were getting residents ready for bed. I finally went to the nurse's station and told the nurse about the women. She seemed totally aware of her and not surprised at all. She continued what she was doing and told me she would go check on her in a minute. Her lack of urgency concerned me a bit but I left.

Two days later I get a phone call from the nurse around 8:00 in the evening telling me my mom is ok but something happened earlier in the day and they wanted to let me know. A resident who was wondering the halls came into my mom's room and thought it was her room. She began going through her drawers and her closet. Taking things out and talking to herself. When my mom asked her to leave and explained she was in the wrong room the women ignored her. Finally after about 15 minutes the women started to leave the room and so my mom who is in a wheel chair most of the time and can't walk unassisted stood up to push the door closed and as she did that a nurse pushed open the door right into her and she fell back on the floor.

My mom was ok but had bruised her back a little. She was very scared and upset. They explained that the women was having some issues. I would say so. I was very upset that the facility was allowing someone with these issues to remain on the floor without constant supervision if nothing else. They seemed to act as though it was no big deal but I found it very scary. Not only did it put my mom at risk for injury but it also made her afraid to be in her room. My mom can't lock the door because she can't use her hands and the night crew comes into her room a few times a night to change her night underwear and check on her.

I did not receive any call from the executive director but I did hear that the women left the facility a few days later. This is something I never expected would happen. I did send an email documenting what happen to all the contacts at the facility. I explained my concern and expectations going forward. It is important to pay attention to what is going on around the facility.