Mom has dementia and has declined a lot. She is verbally and physically abusive. She was in a nice nursing home, had her placed in, then she had behaviors, they sent her to geropsych, now the nursing home will not accept her back and she is going to one of the worst nursing homes in town ...it’s far from my house and I’m scared for her ...I’m in need of advice and comfort because I’m scared for her.
Is the original NH not accepting her due to behaviors or because they have no beds?
My mom was a handful but she never got violent. My mom had been 86’d from AL because she fell twice in the first ten days. Since mom was aware of that - when she was placed in a NH she was pretending to “fall” a couple of times a day. She blew it when one day - not knowing how long it was going to take for them to discover her - she took a pillow and blanket with her on her “fall”.
Taking my mom to a geriatric psychiatrist fixed the problem- along with a few others. How long have they been working with your mothers medications to get her behavior under control?
If you don’t mind me asking - when you say the new nh is one of the worst - in what way?
My suggestion is don't give up. Find another place for your mother. That would be the first thing. Your mom's care and safety is the most important thing. The suggestion of trying to get her back to the previous facility is also another option. I would try to see if they would be willing but I am guessing it is a long shot. There seems to be a long standing practice of once a resident has left the facility that gives that facility the opportunity not to allow them back even if things have improved with your mother.
I wish I could provide you more words of comfort. I would also try and contact your local Office on Aging as see if they can give you some suggestions. I am very sorry you have to go through this. Please don't give up.
Boy do I know how overwhelming and stressful these emergencies are and how they tend to come up. My heart goes out to you. Know that you have a lot of emotional support here, try to take a deep breath and approach this one step at a time. What's most important to you (sounds like getting her back to that facility if her behavior issues have been resolved) and start there. It would be a good idea as well to do some research or start putting together back up plans as well, where are the other facilities closer to home and which ones are preferable, maybe they will take her with a certain amount of proven time with the behaviors under control. Maybe her doctor or the psych facility have suggestions, they work with this stuff all the time. Hopefully you will find that the situation isn't insurmountable and the end resolve isn't as bad as it feels rite now. Hang in there.
A little secret I learned about my abusive parents. Abusive people go through cycles of being nice for a short time and then return to being nasty. This is an endless vicious cycle that will never quit and there's nothing you can do. Stopping the vicious cycle is between them and God. You're not responsible for her behavior and you can't fix this and spare her from the consequences. Doing so will only enable her further because rewarding bad behavior actually tells her it's OK when really it's not. You may want the best care for your mom, but if she won't work with her care team then she's just going to have to face whatever comes because it's her fault she got herself into this mess. Call it a form of landing yourself in jail/prison. You act out in the community bad enough you go to jail. If the crime is bad enough, you go to the big house called prison and the worst nursing home is actually a form of some type of jail if you think about it. No one wants to see their love ones go to jail so I understand you not wanting to see your mom go to a bad nursing home. Again, not your problem. You didn't make her act out, she chose to act out and be the way she is. This kind of behavior is exactly what lands people in jail so think of this place as a form of jail or even prison. She got herself in this mess, let her get herself out and don't you interfere
When the wife had some behavior issues, I was advised to take her to a geri-psych ward to find a medication that would calm here and make her more agreeable to work with. That took 3 1/2 weeks, but proved to be perfect. The place I found told me my friends would never had to leave, that they provide care to the very end, and they did that for the wife. They gave me advice as she continued to decline and when to start hospice. They continue to provide excellent care for her husband, who is in good physical health, but just can't remember a lot of things. A doctor visits him once a month and I take him to his eye doctor and dental appointments. Otherwise he is happy to stay there with his television and newspaper and walking down for meals 3 times a day with his new friends. I check periodically with the health care nurse for updates and they keep extensive records. For me, a nursing home is out of the question when I have found a place such as this. When I run out of his money, they agreed to take public financing--whatever that would amount to--once we have paid 18 months at the regular rate. We have paid now for 30 months and he has enough cash to last another 2-3 years. He is also a veteran having served during the Korean War and is eligible for those benefits in addition to social security, retirement benefits and his IRAs. I echo the suggestions of others--if you have a choice, why bother with a nursing home? Many other places do better. Best of luck to you on your dilemma.