We recently moved my mother into memory care from an assisted living where she has lived for the past five years after she fell and cracked her pelvis. Our experience with the assisted living was less that satisfactory. They had many changes of director (and this began pre-pandemic) and a lot of change in their caregivers. We discovered that Mother was not getting the care for which she was paying, so, after the fall, we made a decision to move her elsewhere hoping she could get better care. The staff at the memory care facility are very caring and kind, which is appreciated. However, there are other issues which have gone on for months of which we only recently became aware. Now we feel that we have only moved Mother to a "better" facility to find that they are not much better at all. Does this happen everywhere, i.e., you pay a facility for care or amenities they can't really provide, but you don't realize it until too late? Mother is in a suburb of a city and we don't have unlimited options for her. Any advice regarding how to address these issues successfully would really be appreciated. I find myself really angry and frustrated.
If the problems are care based then you can ask for a meeting with the director that is handling the MC. (some facilities have "directors" for the different levels of care)
A meeting can iron out a lot of problems.
Be clear and concise when outlining problems.
And keep in mind that "Sales people" that typically show people around often "guild the lily" and if a promise is not written in the contract that is signed it is difficult to enforce.
No place will be "perfect" simply because humans are involved. Employees can have an "off" day, residents can have "off" days and when both resident and staff are not having good days on the same day that can wreck havoc.
I hope that you are able to resolve your issues soon.
Best wishes to you and your family.
Falling is going to happen. My DD is an RN. She had a resident in a wheelchair, she turned to talk to someone and in that instant the resident stood up and fell out of the wheelchair.
In my Moms AL the aides had jobs that had nothing to do with care. They had to set up the dining room for every meal. The were literally waitresses. Then, clean up. After clean up they then take the residents back to their rooms to get them ready for the night. Some do laundry.
Als and MCs are not skilled nursing facilities. They are limited in what they can provide. There comes a time when residents need more care then can be given. Then its time for Long-term care.