Rochester, N.Y. — Janet Deisenroth lived three years after her 90th birthday party. The months that followed would be the most heart-wrenching for her family.
“She was totally in disarray,” recalls Deisenroth’s daughter, Jeannie Wells. “Her hair, they had no hairdressers. We found out they had not been giving showers. They didn’t have a safe way to do that.”
Wells' mom, Janet, was sent to a local nursing home for rehabilitation after breaking her hip in March 2020. Two days after she arrived, COVID-19 locked it down.
Her family couldn’t see her in person for seven months and Janet would never go home.
“For us, it was more painful than for her. To see her in dirty clothes without socks - they were constantly losing everything we brought,” said Jeannie.
When COVID-19 rules were relaxed and Jean said they finally got into her mom’s room, she says was shocked by what she saw and took photos: a dirty bathroom in disrepair, broken outlets, stained furniture and what appeared to be an infection on her mom’s foot.
Jeannie began a long and frustrating search for help. She says she contacted the nursing home's social workers and filed several complaints with the New York State Health Department but, she says, all to no avail. Jeannie says she found it almost impossible to report a situation.
Her complaints to the NYSDOH are among thousands. In 2021, more than 13,000 nursing home complaints were filed. More than 11,000 complaints pertained to local facilities.
But some senior advocates some of it could be avoided with more funding to the New York’s ombudsman program. According to AARP, less than half of all nursing homes in New York have an ombudsman dedicated to spotting and solving care issues.
“It’s a critical piece of long-term care,” said David McNally, NY director of government affairs and advocacy for AARP.
“Sometimes the problem or condition is not just about one patient, so they are there to be the eyes and ears of what they see and hear in the facility,” said McNally.
Senior care advocates across the state are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to put $20 million into the federally mandated ombudsman program in the upcoming state budget. McNally says the money would be enough to place one ombudsman in each nursing home once a week.
Jeannie took her case and her concerns directly to Hochul and the state health commissioner. She asked that nursing homes post visible signs with the NYSDOH hotline number to report complaints. The governor responded, saying her team would look into Wells’ concerns.
The loss of Jeannie’s mother is compounded by what she believes was neglectful care and her frustrating fight to get someone to help. Jeannie said she contacted 37 different people in her search for accountability in her mother’s care.
“I truly don’t understand why this doesn’t tear at people’s well-being. It wouldn’t happen with a child. You have to look at these people as being vulnerable and defenseless," said Jeannie.
There is no indication yet that the
governor will include the $20 million requested by senior care advocates
in the upcoming state budget.
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