Nursing Home Rehab Search

Sunday November 19, 2006

Dear friends and loving family,

You have read my recounts of our mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, and most of all, the kind loving person to all she meets. Mom is still that persona! No matter how ill she may be, or how bad she may feel, she still wants you to know she love you and wants to know how you are? Is that not wonderful!

She has been in the hospital, Tuesday 11/21/2006 at 3:00am will be 3 weeks. That is 21 days in bed, 21 days with her infectious pneumonia and a minimum of visitors. This was our choice as mom's, knowing she would not want to expose you to something that would make you so very sick. Is that not the Midgie we all know and love? Jack and/or I am there everyday and calls to her nurses each day keep us up todate as to her welfare.

Saturday, Jack went to the hospital and mom was still about the same. But her temperature was up, about 100 degrees and they are treating this. We really thought we had the pneumonia on the ropes but this is still a factor. The feeding tube is keeping her caloric needs met for the most part, but this reduces her appetite and she is now reluctant to take any nurishment by mouth. Jack tried in vain, and I called later and the pm RN told me the same.

Karen and I spent the biggest part of Saturday morning visiting nursing/rehabilition centers here in and around this side of the mountain. We began at Shelby Ridge in Alabaster, off 31S, behind Shelby Baptist Hospital. We quickly learned that the marketing personel and administrative people we might have questions for are off on weekends. We did get to look at Shelby Ridge but did not get shown around but did talk to a couple leaving who have an 84 year old aunt in the rehab section. Bottom line, the retired nurse, rated this slighter higher than average, food just average, but commented this would be everywhere as that is her aunt main complaint. It is a fairly new facility, appears clean and the halls looked similar to Ashton Gables. Rebab is adequate working with her but she said "I am here everyday!" Nursing homes/rehabs, how much is done when we ARE NOT THERE?

We then went to Laurelton Nursing/Rehab on Hiway 95 in Alabaster. Both of these first mentioned facilities are about 9 miles from Ashton Gables. To get to this facility, look for highway 52 intersecting 31S in Alabaster, go about one mile to highway 95, turn left and Laureltons (formerly Briarcliff) is about 2 miles on the left. A nursing supervisor showed us all over Laureltons and it is big. It is an older nursing facility under new ownership and much inside is being updated as we speak. It offers all mom might need, but much like Meadowood, semi-private rooms in much of the facility. It offers some private rooms, depending on the patients needs. It has a dementia section where all the patients are brought into a common area (much like Meadowood) so they can observe and see to their needs and safety. Some of the rooms were small, and maybe room for one or two chairs but that is all. The bathrooms were clean but older. She gave us a good tour and held nothing back so we would not get any surprises should we move mom there.

The last facility we looked at was off data drive next to Telco where Laurie works. This is a Beverly facility as is Meadowood. We did get to tour by a nurse, an the halls were wide and appear clean but like the others, no carpet like at Ashton Gables. The rooms we saw were smaller than Ashton Gables and again more like a hospital atmosphere. We visited the eating and rehab area and were introduced to the activities director working with patients much like mom was at Ashton Gables. This facility is the closest of the 3 we visited! It is fairly new like Shelby Ridge. We did not talk to an objective person but this facility appears adequate for mom at first glance.

Sunday afternoon, Jack and Vicki called from Brookwood and mom is still not eating per the nursing assistant. I talked to Susan, mom's RN today, and she said mom was sleepy or sleeping and refusing to eat breakfast and Jack said lunch was there while he was talking to me and mom again was combative, refusing at every turn. Jack and Vicki are talking to the RN, RNA, and anyone else who can give us information on mom and give us an update as we speak. I'll pause and write more after Jack calls back!

I called Jack and they had just left the hospital. Mom is like I have said and again refusing to eat. They talked to Susan and she said mom is scheduled for PT on Monday and I have an appointment with mom's case worker early Monday morning at Brookwood. I plan to visit at least 2 (hopefully 4) other nursing/rehab facilities in Trussville, Bessemer, back to Alabaster and one in Hoover on 31S. We too have to make plans to get mom's things out of Ashton Gables targeting this next Saturday. If Karen and I can work it out, we plan to go to AG and pack up some things of mom's to make the move as easily as possible when it happens. Keep mom and all of her doctors and caregivers in your prayers.....Love from the Nutter/Northcutt families/Jeff