Leaving Evergreen Nursing Home?
Who-ah, as Ben would say,what a day! Looks like we will be leaving good old Evergreen Nursing Home sooner than later- thanks in large part to Ben's cardiologist who saw Ben this afternoon. He was outraged that Ben wasn't getting adequate care and therapy at the nursing home. As soon as I can logistically line things up, such as renting medical equipment, learning how to care for Ben, fung shuing the house so Ben can get around, getting a GPS so we can locate Ben in case he wanders off, then I'm busting him out of there- actually I hope tomorrow.
I don't feel safe leaving there at Evergreen any more. He's got a Martha Stewart ankle bracelet in case he wanders off, but yesterday he set the alarm off 3 times and nobody came and checked it out. The times he's wandered off and out of the building, it's been other residents, not staff, who have caught him and returned him to the facility. Pretty scary to think of Ben, restrained in a wheelchair, rolling down Lilly Road in the middle of the night.
Anyhoo- I'm excited about getting him the H-E-Double-hockey sticks out of there. My goal still is to get him into the intensive in-patient rehab program at St. Pete's. I've been trying to get the nursing home nurse and part-time doctor to do the paperwork that would allow St. Pete's to evaluate Ben and see if he's ready for rehab, but they have refused to cooperate. A little conflict of interest there, perhaps? The fox minding the hen house? Finally, they say they will cooperate, but only after Ben's doctor made a call. But the reality is, the way Evergreen's bureaucracy works, it will take days, even weeks to process him through to discharge him. If I forgo their process and just bring him home, St. Pete's can evaluate him right away. If he's not quite ready, then I think he'll be better off at home.
All in all, it was a great day. I saw my doctor today and believe it or not, my blood pressure is down, even while I was ranting and raving to her about Evergreen Nursing Home. She's Ben's doctor too and she agrees that Ben needs a change. This has been hard for me, knowing the difference between standing up for Ben, or trying to accept what seems to me like an extremely flawed system. I'm grateful for Evergreen, but now it's time to move on. Thanks for letting me vent. Love, B
10:01 PM
I don't feel safe leaving there at Evergreen any more. He's got a Martha Stewart ankle bracelet in case he wanders off, but yesterday he set the alarm off 3 times and nobody came and checked it out. The times he's wandered off and out of the building, it's been other residents, not staff, who have caught him and returned him to the facility. Pretty scary to think of Ben, restrained in a wheelchair, rolling down Lilly Road in the middle of the night.
Anyhoo- I'm excited about getting him the H-E-Double-hockey sticks out of there. My goal still is to get him into the intensive in-patient rehab program at St. Pete's. I've been trying to get the nursing home nurse and part-time doctor to do the paperwork that would allow St. Pete's to evaluate Ben and see if he's ready for rehab, but they have refused to cooperate. A little conflict of interest there, perhaps? The fox minding the hen house? Finally, they say they will cooperate, but only after Ben's doctor made a call. But the reality is, the way Evergreen's bureaucracy works, it will take days, even weeks to process him through to discharge him. If I forgo their process and just bring him home, St. Pete's can evaluate him right away. If he's not quite ready, then I think he'll be better off at home.
All in all, it was a great day. I saw my doctor today and believe it or not, my blood pressure is down, even while I was ranting and raving to her about Evergreen Nursing Home. She's Ben's doctor too and she agrees that Ben needs a change. This has been hard for me, knowing the difference between standing up for Ben, or trying to accept what seems to me like an extremely flawed system. I'm grateful for Evergreen, but now it's time to move on. Thanks for letting me vent. Love, B
10:01 PM
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