Missouri Has Someone Listening. Yea, MizzouRah!

People are reading this blog and people in places where changes can be made are taking effective action -- at least in Missouri.

Hey! Fellow Missorians, check this website out:
http://health.mo.gov/safety/showmelongtermcare/index.php

What's the difference? The State used to follow their guideline used with Long Term Care Facilities and only provide a current year's listing of their visits to each facility.

Now:  There are five years available.
One year reports can make a serious offense invisible as it "dissappears" beneath the layers of the months as they progress. 

You and I need that information when we need it, which can often be with little warning as a Dr releases a patient from the hospital and says they shouldn't be "unattended" or need 24/7 care giving.

You and I need to see how facilities actively and continuously remedy any and all infractions of State Laws on Nursing Home/Long Term Care and NOT just in the few months that follow a report.

NOW, MISSOURI, ANOTHER REQUEST:  Let's provide an easy to read, at a glance, comparison listing of those areas on the report so we can really see the "progress" and the problems.

No PDF format where each year has to be opened separately and makes comparing and seeing the true picture of the care giving practiced at any facility.

TIME FOR MANDATED COMPUTER RECORDING also of 

patient's administration of medications and personal care along with all notes from Doctors or Nursing Staff concerning the patient. 

MOST IMPORTANTLY:

In the real world, Mom wanted me to go with her to the Dr. She knew I cared about her health and well being. She wanted support and someone who truly cared about her and not just a medical person who "worked" with or for the Dr.

Never possible at the facilities where she spent the last three years of her life. Even though arrangements could have been made for a family member to attend, we were never consulted.

The State required "conferences" seldom included any actual paperwork presentation let alone a written plan of care. 

VERBAL. EVERYTHING WAS VERBAL. 

In many facilities, Dr's visits are not regular, not even scheduled. They come to see who they can when they and "just inside" what the law requires them to do or what they feel is necessary to avoid "medical malpractice" possible charges.

The Dr should be obligated to have a conference with the family member or other responsible party to ensure the Resident is receiving the highest level of care possible.

HERE'S ANOTHER ONE "FOR THE BOOKS":

It's time we spoke out about the lack of privacy given residents of Long Term Care/Nursing Facilities.

I don't want to see a patient's top or pants pulled down or opened at a dining table or any place where they are in view of any other resident, visitor or worker. 

Residents deserve dignity. 

Would you go to a Dr's office where everyone was in the same room, men and women, and the Dr reached under your garment  to listen to your heart or the Nurse pulled your pants away from your body to give you an injection in your side? It happens.

Let's Get Mandated Computer Recording and Reporting of Resident Reports and mandated printouts for meetings with the resident that are provided, computerized and available for comparison and ensuring actions have been taken and challenges resolved.

It's time to expand the information Federal & State Law requires to be provided to the resident or kept in records basically under lock and key and you have to move mountains to gain access.

Safety, security, quality of life, are not words and a phrase, they are what each of us wants for ourselves and for one another. We take pride in all that we have in the United States yet we ignore what we don't have, what we don't provide and what we believe we cannot fund.

Being institutionalized as a Senior should not be imprisonment.