• Constantly running out of my prescription medications and having to go without for days

• Nobody knows anything about my disability

• Many aides don't wash their hands after changing someone's diapers

• Very few promises are kept

• A night person looses benefits: wheelchair washing, meals, etc

• Not consulting me when making major decisions: changing my medications, making Doctor's appointments, etc 

• Taking forever when I request help putting something together or fixing something --- when maintenance has no intention of doing it in the first place

• I don't feel safe in a nursing home: pulling the "emergency" cord still could mean over an hours wait for help to arrive

• Getting my toenails cut at times seems impossible

• Building is not wheelchair accessible: over 95 percent of residents are in wheelchairs. Mostly noticeable in small bathrooms 

help doing everyday things (getting things you can’t reach, etc .)

Nurses will come running if you need immediate care. Directly after dinner many residents either have a bowel moment or want to go to bed - this is when the aides go to lunch - when aides or nurses go to lunch; break; writing reports; or are changing shifts NOBODY is around to help.  

cleanliness -- everything is NOT sanitary 

not having to wait to go to the bathroom – lifts, bedpans, diapers, put on toilet, all slow

thinking families will always be there to help -- some families disappear (see surrogate families)

1) Never enough people hired in nursing homes:

a) owners want profits – don't hire enough staff members

b) staff cannot provide appropriate care, ratio of caretakers to residents far too high
(for ALL staff members)

c) cleanliness effected (aides in hurry and don't wash hands [service many patients], throw dirty diapers in bathroom trashcan ,etc.)

2) Not knowing what's wrong with a resident of a nursing home is a considerable mistake -- Alzheimer's disease; Friedreich's Ataxia; and many other conditions. This is due to the "doctor/patients privacy right." Aides (who do most of the direct "care taking") and other workers have very limited information about the resident's particular condition: Only nurses have adequate access to the resident's condition and abilities. 

In some cases (especially concerning those with disabilities) this lack of knowledge could interfere with appropriate care for the resident. If the family had the right to ask if they would like to wave the "right to privacy" and demand that all the staff know the condition, cause, and details of what the resident can and can't do, the resident could receive more personalized, pertinent care.

3) Nursing homes carry "no constraints" too far:

a) Those who need seatbelts and can’t have them.  Seatbelts are called a constraining device if the resident is low in mental capacity because they cannot release the device.  Meanwhile the resident keeps slipping out of wheelchair and falling on floor.  

b) Bedrails not allowed. This results in residents falling out of bed.  

4) Nursing homes don't seem to know (or care) about the many organizations available to help people who are aged or disabled – such as, the elderly, blind, amputees, veterans, or physically disabled. There should be "direct communication" and cooperation between "nursing homes" and "advantageous organizations." After all, tax dollars are usually responsible for the existence of both nursing homes and multiple non-profit organizations. Social services departments should be required to inform their residents of pertinent agencies and organizations that offer assistance.   

8) Nursing homes induce loss of independence which makes one feel insignificant.  

a) going outside the confines of the nursing home usually prohibited - (for your safety)

b) no longer in-charge of your own finances – instead you get a measly monthly allowance with no cost of living increases (e.g. $52 month - for over 7 years) even though expected to pay for your own—clothing, toiletries, haircuts and styling, internet service, computers, repairs, phones, sometimes laundry, etc., (families expected to help financially – if they don’t ‘disappear’) [see surrogate families]       

9) Many nursing homes don't seem to understand, or even acknowledge the existence of the Americans with Disabilities Act law. (The vast majority of residents are in wheelchairs)

a) This ignorance of wheelchair accessibility is mostly noticeable in the bathrooms - disabled individuals can't see themselves because the mirrors are too high]; disabled individuals can't reach the papers-towels or sinks; etc.).  

10) Nursing homes appear not to know about assistive technology devices (except forks and plates) NEVER let the residents use (or even know about) devices that were for made for personal operation.  

a) Many nursing homes won't allow disabled individuals to use any device they can transfer themselves with. [probably the fear of being sued - so the aids do all transferring] – more loss of independence

b) I asked for a padded, toilet-top commode and nobody knew what I meant: and poles I had (for nursing home use) weren’t allowed.  

11) screamers - Little is more nerve racking than a new resident of a nursing home who yells; screams; or make any constant or annoyingly loud sounds. Fortunately, they are no longer labeled as "senile" or "nuts". Doctors know that many of the "screamers" are suffering from physical diseases that causes their unusual behaviors - such as, Alzheimer's; brain disease; or some other physical disorder.

Nonetheless, a lot of residents can't sleep or are otherwise disturbed by the loud noise. There should be a separate area or "wing" at the nursing home to separate the "screamers" from the quiet residents.  

13) Sex and privacy in a nursing home is a thing of the past.  

a) unless your really fast—there goes the romance!

b) If your nimble, a closet might work

14) Nursing homes don't seem to understand the severe need and availability (of free or low cost) computers for the disabled; the ability to be on the internet; or the need for timely computer repairs. [See CR therapy] 

15) There is very little communication between departments and between shifts at nursing homes (the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing).   

16) Put nursing home residents in wheelchairs or a similar devices to keep them safe, even if not necessary (so the management doesn't get involved in a lawsuit). [my opinion]

17) Personal property is often lost or stolen in a nursing home. This  happens all the time.   

18) Nursing homes are always running out of your needed medications.  

19) You'll get anything you need as long as Medicaid or Medicare will pay for it.  (I need special shampoo due to psoriasis - so I use the "house" shampoo, and itch and flake all the time). [Insurance won't pay for shampoo] 

20) Nursing homes "beautify" the main hallways and cafeteria of the nursing home, but rarely the resident's rooms [so visitors will see how "nice" the home is.]

21) Nursing homes do things without telling or discussing them with the residents first, or even telling the residents (e.g. changing the amount of pills; discontinuing a needed medication; putting an alarm on you (so they know when you try to get up by yourself); give you a new medication; take the knobs off all the residents air/heat units because one individual mistakenly turned on the heat instead of the air etc. [makes one feel like a mindless farm animal]

22) Don't be concerned when a resident loses, or has a personal item stolen, we (the management of the nursing home) aren't responsible, the residents are (i.e. the laundry that you never get back; deodorant, Shampoo, or electric savers [the aides misplace these things]; or stolen radios, checks, jewelry, or even food items from the nurses refrigerators.)