Have you ever been "Dumped"?
Dumping is a practice that is carried out all too often, in our most prestigious adult care facilities. This practice occurs when a facility decides they no longer can or that they no longer want to care for a resident; or following an act or omission of an act that places the facility in a libelous situation, and they need a back door in which to exit.
The resident is sent to a hospital, without illness and with no complaints of his own. Neither the family nor the resident’s legal representative is notified. This is all done very secretly, behind closed doors, and by the very folks who have been paid to protect and provide for your loved one’s care. It’s a slick way to skirt the law, and literally toss our Elder's out of their home, just like Thursday’s garbage; and without legal recourse to the facility.
Good luck on getting a refund for the days that were paid in advance for the remainder of that month. Those get devoured in excessive charges, which have been padded into the invoice, and by the days the resident’s furnishings are still in the room. Don’t be surprised if you are not allowed back in the facility to pick up your loved one’s personal items. The resident's family is usually the one who gets the call from the police for some trumped up allegation against them by the facility. You are then forced to leave the resident’s personal belongings at the facility until you can arrange for a police escort to the facility. Understand, the perpetrator, who is most usually the Administrator of the facility, needs to cover their ASS..ets, and they have had a lot more experience at exploiting their Resident’s then you or I have had at defending them.
This is my personal story. .
Dad was a resident in Hawthorne Court in Ahwatukee, when I first experienced this shocking practice. He was sent back to the hospital after having just been released earlier that day by Hospice of the Valley from Chandler Regional Hospital.
I had notified the director of the facility, Melinda Hawkins multiple times, in person, by telephone, and by email, several days prior to Dad’s initial hospitalization, that his leg was swollen twice it's normal size and that he needed something to relieve the water from his body. She continually refused medical attention for my Father, stating that she checked his leg and it was “Level one edema, nothing to worry about” I have the email sent with her response to me, dated only one day prior to Dad’s initial hospitalization, requesting the name of the facility physician so I could contact him directly on Dad’s behalf. She refused to provide me with the contact information stating that she was the nurse and further claimed that she was the only person with the authority to contact the facility physician and that I was not allowed to do so, even though I was Dad’s legal court appointed Guardian.
I stopped by Hawthorne Court the following morning to check on Dad and to shower him. After inquiring why he had body odor and his hair was greasy several day’s earlier. I was informed that he had “Not yet been placed in the shower schedule”. This was following two full weeks of residency! I had informed Ms Hawkins that I would personally shower him, but that I would be deducting the additional amount that I was being charged for showers from his monthly fee. I felt it was the facilities responsibility to provide personal care, according to the care plan, especially when I was paying over $6,000 a month, with an additional $500.00 monthly just for showers that apparently had not yet been started. I erroneously believed that personal care began the day of admission and most certainly with the acceptance of a hefty move in fee.
I arrived to discover Dad’s face yellow and swollen, and his lips turned purple. When I asked him what was going on, he responded in a raspy voice that was hardly audible, “I don’t feel very good”. I asked the attendants to call the doctor, and was promptly informed that only Ms. Hawkins could do that. I called my personal physician who instructed me to call an ambulance immediately and to transport him to the nearest hospital.
While waiting on the paramedics to transport Dad to the hospital, Ms Hawkins, who is young enough to be my daughter, stormed into Dad's room to scold me as if I were her child; addressing me, the paying customer, as "Young Lady", and stating that I needed to "Lose the attitude". I was surprised at her authoritarian posture, especially considering the circumstances. I responded to her demands by instructing her to stay out of the paramedic’s way until Dad was transported to the hospital. When a resident is in congestive heart failure, especially when that resident’s family is the one who discovers the medical emergency, and the one who summons assistance, is not an appropriate time for a power play by an employee.
Ms. Hawkins personal diagnoses of 'Level one edema' refusing to summon medical advice, accompanied by REFUSING to provide me with the contact information for the attending physician, resulted in Dad being admitted to Chandler Regional Hospital for six (6) days with Congestive Heart Failure.
I was contacted by the hospital ER physician, at 7PM on the Friday night following Dad’s discharge from Chandler Regional Hospital earlier that day, informing me that Dad had been returned back to the hospital, without cause or symptoms, and needed to know what I wanted them to do with him, that they could not admit him, since he was stable, not in distress, and had just been released from the hospital a few hours earlier that afternoon.
According to the EMS report, the director of the facility, Melinda Hawkins, stated that “Hawthorne Court was NOTa memory care facility". Funny she didn’t know that when they first accepted Dad as a cash cow (resident) or the day prior to the DUMP, when she collected my personal check for an additional thirty (30) days for Dad’s residential room and care. No, she just discovered that they were NOT a “Memory Care Facility after collecting thousands of dollars for services that she knew they would not be providing, and for rent on a room that they apparently never intended to make available to Dad upon his discharge from the hospital.
Hmmm… looks like someone from corporate needs to change the sign in front of the facility.
In an effort to cover the facilities ASS…ets, Ms Hawkins then filed a false police report against me personally, alleging that I was driving down the street in front of the facility, stalking her, which was substantiated in the police report. It appears she was experienced with this sort of elder exploitation, and knew how to take the focus off of her underhanded behavior, by creating a smokescreen which focused on me. She should have at the very least, done a preliminary investigation to find out where I was, at the time of the alleged incident, before actually calling the police. It was quite clear to the officer, by both my phone records and my computer hard drive, where I was when this 'alleged' incident took place. As the officer reported to me, anyone can report anything about anybody. I was instructed not to go near the facility without a witness, just to protect myself against Ms Hawkins unethical, devious behavior.
Dad had been placed on Hospice care earlier that day, prior to discharge from the hospital. The Hospice representative made the arrangements to have Dad returned to the facility directly with the representative of Hawthorne Court. I was only informed of the discharge plan and paid the bill. When I placed a call to Hospice of the Valley to seek advice, I was informed that they had never heard of this type of incident in the history of providing Elder Care. They did not know what to do, since there were no beds available in any of their respite facilities across the valley. Dad was forced to lay on an uncomfortable gurney the entire night in the emergency room of a hospital. He is not able to sit up or stand. Hawthorne Court was not courteous enough to send his wheelchair.
Hospice of the Valley finally found a bed for Dad at one of their respite facilities across town, the following morning. Dad stayed there for two (2) weeks while I once again begin the search for alternative placement. It’s not easy to find residential placement for a man who is 6'4", weighs over 220 pounds, is paralyzed as a result of multiple strokes, and who has Alzheimer's disease. I was forced to pay for two facilities simultaneously, resulting in another huge, financial loss, until I could get a police escort to assist in removing Dad's personal belongs from Hawthorne Court. After spending the week at the hospital with Dad, then time at the Hospice respite facility, to assure Dad that he was OK, and finally seeking alternative placement, I lost another full month of work and was physically and emotionally exhausted. I am both my Dad’s and my Grandson’s Legal Guardian and their sole source of support.
I only wish that I would have been forewarned of facilities like Hawthorne Court and Director’s like Melinda Hawkins. It’s apparent that they have NO personal experience, or conscience in caring for an elder with their personal resources or time. What’s become a lucrative GAME for unethical providers is a life altering experience for those of us fending for someone unable to care for themselves.
It has been my unfortunate personal experience that there are numerous facilities today that are more concerned with profits and turning Elder Care into a life altering game, than with providing honest, ethical, residential care. Truth is no longer a priority, and the resident’s and their family members become mere toys at the hands of corrupt, devious administrators.
I’ve learned that the facilities who are trying to hide care issues make allegations against family members who ask too many questions, or get too close to uncovering some unethical practice. If you listen closely enough, beneath the threats and allegations, you will usually find a mere smokescreen covering the very unethical activity you are being accused of. There are only two things which ultimately affect an Elder Care provider; Profits and Reputation. Any outside threat to either carries unbelievable consequences.
Had I not stopped by Hawthorne Court that morning after leaving the gym, I would never have known what happened to my Dad. A human life seems a hefty price to pay for either profit or reputation.
