Who Did You Say Cares?
"Day or night, when you need us...we'll be there." So says the page that explains the key elements of the supposed "We Care Advantage".
My father is in institutionalized care, suffering from Alzheimer's. This week he was taken ill with a respiratory problem. Low grade fever, a nagging cough and a throat he can't seem to clear - these were all making him miserable. Since x-rays showed his lungs to be clear, there was not deemed to be a need to move him to a hospital. He is so far gone with the Alzheimer's, however, that this infection was simply adding insult to injury as far as him finding any possible comfort level. Compound the whole problem with the fact that the staff there don't always seem to be overly involved in their jobs, and so we thought to help him through this by hiring someone from "wecare" to be there 24/7 for him. The idea was for them to offer him fluids on a regular basis and shift his position in bed regularly to avoid pressure sores, to be there with him and for him since the regular staff can't offer him the extra care he needs right now as he battles this infection.
Today that someone was absent from his bedside for over three and a half hours. How do we know? There were family members there by his bedside that whole time, and the "caregiver" was conspicuous by her absence that whole time. A call to the agency's office has resulted in the removal of that someone from my father's case, and a new someone being brought on board. The question we would all like to have answered is - where the hell was that first supposed caregiver for all that time?
Does she do this with others in her care? Is she so lacking in a work ethic, in a conscience, that she leaves elderly patients all alone even though she has assumed the responsibility of taking care of them in return for a paycheque? I wonder how many paycheques she has taken on such a false basis before today? I wonder just how many others she has duped into thinking their family member was safe with her?
I wonder if there will come a day when she will truly reap what she has sown? I hope so.
My father is in institutionalized care, suffering from Alzheimer's. This week he was taken ill with a respiratory problem. Low grade fever, a nagging cough and a throat he can't seem to clear - these were all making him miserable. Since x-rays showed his lungs to be clear, there was not deemed to be a need to move him to a hospital. He is so far gone with the Alzheimer's, however, that this infection was simply adding insult to injury as far as him finding any possible comfort level. Compound the whole problem with the fact that the staff there don't always seem to be overly involved in their jobs, and so we thought to help him through this by hiring someone from "wecare" to be there 24/7 for him. The idea was for them to offer him fluids on a regular basis and shift his position in bed regularly to avoid pressure sores, to be there with him and for him since the regular staff can't offer him the extra care he needs right now as he battles this infection.
Today that someone was absent from his bedside for over three and a half hours. How do we know? There were family members there by his bedside that whole time, and the "caregiver" was conspicuous by her absence that whole time. A call to the agency's office has resulted in the removal of that someone from my father's case, and a new someone being brought on board. The question we would all like to have answered is - where the hell was that first supposed caregiver for all that time?
Does she do this with others in her care? Is she so lacking in a work ethic, in a conscience, that she leaves elderly patients all alone even though she has assumed the responsibility of taking care of them in return for a paycheque? I wonder how many paycheques she has taken on such a false basis before today? I wonder just how many others she has duped into thinking their family member was safe with her?
I wonder if there will come a day when she will truly reap what she has sown? I hope so.
2 Comments:
I am sorry to hear about your Father and seriously annoyed with that supposed caregiver. Care of the Elderly is easily one of the hardest jobs there is and therefore people who do it should be totally committed to it. Karma is a bitch and that chick will certainly be bitten in the ass one day.
I hope your Dad feels better soon from the nasty flu.
we went through something simular...kind of, with my Dad. My brother and I decided that my Dads last days we would not leave him alone. I took the night shift (I dont sleep when normal people do) and my brother the day shift. On my Dads last day, my aunt came for a visit and seeing how tired I was, said that she would stay with him. I figured that she would as she was his sister and should care about him. My brother and I passed on the road, and we figure that the time between my leaving and his arriving was about 40 minutes... We also figure that is how long my Dad was alone. My aunt left right after I did. She is another one that we home "gets it in the end"
I hope that your Dad gets over the Flu. I also hope that your family is strong. These terminal illnesses are hard on families. My prayers are with you and your family
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