My Mother is in a so called assited living home for all different
types of patients. In my opinion, she & the others are not fed
properly, nor are they cared for like I had hoped it would be like.
The "group home" is in Glendale, Arizona. No LPN's nor RN's are ever
on duty. Besides my 84 yr. old Mom, there are others who cannot eat
greasy pizza and hot dogs for meals. A doctor visits once a month if
they are lucky, and they charge almost $1000.00 per/mo. for room and
board. The employess aren't even certified, who over sees these homes
in our state of Arizona? Who can I contact without giving my name, as
she says they will "take it out on her" If I was able, Mom would be
with me, however I am not in any condition myself to care for her.
They give her a hard time about the foods my brother and I take to
her, as she cannot eat greasy pizza, nor chew it. These people are
old, sick and scared, so they don't say anything at all. I have seen 3
die already, and Mom is about to give up all together. Please, any
advice anyone can offer is better than none at all. Tell me, who can I
contact? TIA

Hi there Mojob,

  What a terrible situation you and your mother are in. Please call at
least one or all the agencies I have listed.

You will need to document every incident of abuse and neglect. Take
pictures of any bruises or injuries your mother may sustain, and date
each picture. Take the pictures discretely. For example if you see a
patient being mistreated, pretend you are taking a picture of your
mom, but get the other patient in the viewfinder. Pretend to take a
picture of your mom while she eats the awful food. Say things like
"Smile, Mom, I want to send Aunt Lucy a new picture of you!" Your mom
does not need to be in on this. While visiting with your mother, jot
down what you see, inconspicuously, while you chat with mom. Note the
kinds of meals the patients are served. Check for cleanliness and the
presence of a urine smell. Observe the staff and see if they wash
their hands after each patient. Document each and every incident. If
your mother makes a complaint to you, document it and ask the staff to
resolve the problem. Remember the name of the employee and when out of
sight, jot down her name and reaction, and if she or he resolved the
problem.

Certified homes are supposed to have a certain number of RNs, LPNs,
and CNAs. You can ask when you call the Long Term Care Licensure
office, found in the next paragraph.


Please contact the Arizona's Office of Long-Term Care Licensure at
602-674-9705, and ask who you need to speak to to file a complaint.
http://www.azdhs.gov/als/ltc/nhsurproc.pdf

AARP addresses nursing home deficiencies and abuse on this site:
http://www.aarp.org/families/housing_choices/nursing_homes/a2004-02-26-nursing-problems.html

The Arizona Geriatrics Society may be useful:
Arizona Geriatrics Society
13101 N. 103rd Avenue, Ste. 311
Sun City, AZ 85351
623-974-4212


This office may lead you in the right direction as well:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
50 United Nations Plaza - Room 322
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 437-8310 (415) 437-8311(TDD)
(415) 437-8329 FAX
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/
Nursing Home abuse Glossary
http://www.nursinghomeabuseresourcecenter.com/glossary/m.html#Medicare

You may make an anonymous call here:
Arizona: Tool-free  877-767-2385
http://www.elderabusecenter.org/default.cfm?p=statehotlines.cfm

http://www.elderabusecenter.org/default.cfm?p=nursinghomeabuse.cfm

If you wish to file against a doctor, you may download forms here:
http://bomex.org/

This is a law firm that specializes in Elder abuse. Tey *MAY* give you
some free advice by filling out this form
http://www.elderly-abuse-nursing-home.com/pgs/contact.html

You can use this site to compare nursing homes in Arizona. Simply
check the boxes in the left hand column of nursing homes you are
interested in.
http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Include/DataSection/Questions/HomeSelect.asp

"A recent government study found that fewer than one in 10 homes
employs the optimum number of nurses and aides. Few facilities are
ever cited for understaffing, however, because minimum government
standards are set far below the levels needed to help assure high
quality care.

A succession of federal reports also has highlighted neglect, abuse
and enforcement problems."
http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20020922nursinghomes0922p1.asp

Finally, Glendale has 3 nice libraries and you may call and ask a
reference librarian to locate a local agency or department that
handles nursing home abuse.
This page lists the 3 libraries and their numbers in the right hand corner.
http://www.ci.glendale.az.us/Library/

Please look after your mother (and other mothers and dads) and file
neglect/abuse reports. Have the nursing home name, address and phone
number ready when you call. Ask if you can remain anonymous as you
fear retaliation, and if not, make it clear you do not want your name
mentioned to the nursing home. They will ask if you have
documentation, so this is very important. Start keeping a diary on
your computer, with names, dates and complaints. You can go back and
add what you have mentioned here and all you have observed. You may be
asked to send your documentation and pictures, so make two copies.

I hope this has helped you. I know you are anxious to resolve this
problem immediately. Take care, and let us know if you were able to
find some assistance.

If any part of my answer is unclear, please request an Answer
Clarification before you rate, and I will respond as soon as possible.

Regards, Crabcakes

Good assisted care facilities are quite expensive. The cheaper ones
are often the chamber of horrors you describe.

I would invest in a good concealable miniature video system, a 'spy
cam', and would secretly tape things, if only to document things if
worse comes to worse. Learn as much as you can about the place,
including the names of those in charge, and if you can, those who
actually own the place (doubtless a layer of anonymous corporations
leading to some impenetrable offshore corporation).

Politicians can sometimes be helpful, Democratic ones particularly. 

Your situation is why so many Americans resort to hiring illegal
aliens to work inside their homes. Less than $1,000 a month, with room
and board, might get you someone decent from south of the border.

There is no easy solution short of a major revolution in the way we
fund health care.

Again, a wonderful answer, Crabcakes, and a merciful one too.

Yes, that's the state of our elder care system today. The only
difference is that on the East Coast (Northern Virginia....Falls
Church....where the sun rises) you get to spend $6,000-$8,000 a month
for the same quality of service. My mom's 87, and has mild/moderate
dementia. Here, the mixed facilities (those serving both the frail
elderly and the memory-impaired) tend to lock up the memory-impaired
in one wing of the facility and drug the heck out of them. Nurses?
Technically, there's one on duty, but you can never find her. A doctor
comes once a month; otherwise, it's the family's obligation to take
their relative for medical care. Most of the care givers here are from
foreign countries (Africa, mainly), with heavy accents and a different
manner/style of care. For an extra charge, they administer
medications, but they frequently make mistakes on the medication and
dosages.

We moved my mom out of that chamber of horrors and into another
facility designed exclusively for those with memory impairments. And
it's a lot better and a bit less expensive, too. (Still around $5,000.
Hear that loud sucking sound? Is the sound of money being sucked out
of the pockets of the elderly and into the pockets of those running
these facilities.) There are more activities for her (and since not
everyone is near-comatose from drugs, some people actually participate
in those activities).

As I say, that's the state of today's elder care.

Good luck.

Wow, that's just terrible, mojob-ga. So sorry to hear of your and your
mother's problems with this place.  And great answer, Crabcakes-ga!
Most excellent. I'm going to save those links myself, just as a
precaution, as my 83-year-old mother is also in an assisted-living
home in the Phoenix area.

However, mojob-ga, I don't know whether moving your mother is an
option for you or not, but for what it's worth, I thought I'd mention
that in April of '04 we moved our mother into an assisted living
facility in Mesa called Merrill Gardens, and she and we have been very
happy with the choice. They also have homes in Chandler and Apache
Junction. I know they're all a ways from Glendale, but they are also
very nice places. My sister looked a long time to find them. Here's a
link to the website: http://www.merrillgardens.com/

My mother has an efficiency apartment with bath for which she pays
about $1500/month. It includes utilities, meals, laundry, and cleaning
services, plus the use of the community facilities, like the game
room, email, etc. and use of the van for errands, doctor appointments
and such. She pays extra for someone to help her with her bath, and
she also pays for her own telephone, personal supplies, and extras
like field trips. It's not cheap, but it's not exorbitant either. My
mother doesn' need nursing services, but Merrill Gardens does offer
different levels of care. The info is on the site. Just passing along
what I know in hopes it might be of some interest and/or use to you.

Good luck. However, you decide to proceed, I wish you and your mother the best.

Regards,
Byrd-ga

This question has hit a nerve. I offer the observation that
elder-care, of the assisted-living variety is considerably cheaper and
far better in small-town Heartland America, by which I mean the small
towns that dot the landscape west of Industrial Ohio and east of
Denver, north to Canada, and avoiding the South and the Great Lakes
cities.

In small-town Heartland America, nearly everyone is related to
everyone at least at the third-cousin level, or by marriage.
Elder-abuse happens less in such environments, and the price for
assisted living is considerably cheaper.