My mother was transferred to PCCC from Palomar Medical Center because the hospital, doctors, insurance company and Medicare decided that my mom was progressing in her recovery from hip fracture surgery to the level deemed appropriate for 'skilled nursing care' - meaning physical and occupational therapy. Despite the obvious contradiction as evident from the doctor's notes, test results, and obvious medical condition of my mother clearly seen by almost anyone who saw her, the nursing facility documented my mother's daily progress as 'uncooperative' and dictated notes that 'nothing is wrong with patient - her complaints are not valid or true. '
The staff at PCCC documented that everything was the cause of my mom having Dementia. This continued daily until Medicare sent down the Denial for Continued Coverage letter. Despite my daily questions as to what medications my mom was being given and requests for the nurses to contact my mom's primary care provider (PCP) because I knew she was really sick and getting critically worse. The specifics: post surgery medical delays to diagnose and to treat accurately and failure to provide correct medications resulted in my mom had a weight gain of almost 15 pounds that went untreated despite my repeated phone calls to her PCP and leaving messages that my mom needed a chest x-ray, some blood tests, a diuretic.
Doctors decided that my mom would not pull through and they were certainly doing their best to try and make that happen. Finally, they had to do the chest x-ray because my mother had a follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon and he requested an x-ray of her hip. How could they do that x-ray and avoid the chest x-ray? Sure enough, test results came back: CHF! Congestive Heart Failure. Then, to make things worse, that nursing facility sent my mom to for the doctor's appointment via medical transport in a wheelchair with a portable tank of oxygen with hose attached having the other end in my mom's nostrils.
Why the medical transport? Because my mother could not get up and walk on her own, with a walker or with assistance, and still she cannot. Guess what happened next? I called 911 from the surgeon's office. Paramedics arrive and they check her oxygen and PCCC sent my mother from their facility, in their care under direction of her primary care doctor, but they never turned on the oxygen! She arrived in the ER with a blood pressure of 82/40! Fifteen pounds of fluid built up around her heart! Daily weight is critical to a person who has COPD and CHF. Well? The hospital didn't notice that? The nursing facility staff didn't notice that?
Not only that, the day after those test results came in, confirming the CHF and confirming that the nursing home PT person completely lied, they basically said my mom was a liar and that I was not knowledgeable enough to diagnose anything like CHF. The following morning, my mother's PCP, hospital doctors of Escondido Internal Medicine Group, showed up at the nursing facility and prescribed an anti-psychotic drug called Respirtol. This drug has FDA warnings all over it. It says not to give this to the elderly and it is not for treating Dementia.
Side effects can include pneumonia and CHF. Not only that, they also prescribed morphine for my mother. That's another one that should not be given to an individual with upper respiratory illness because it causes upper respiratory distress. Well, what the *** is going on? Seems like there is a big problem with the whole picture. This is a living nightmare. My mom is 88 years old. Yep, by the grace of God, she is living. Her heart is still pumping, and she has a smile on her face that is amazing. Oh, what else happened? Well, oxygen is 24/7 now. Her diet/menu: baby food consistency. Before surgery: eating anything she wanted, walking on her own to the bathroom with a walker or holding my arm. Now: diapers.
Medicare guidelines stipulate that my mother has reached the goals set and now discontinued coverage for any physical rehabilitation therapy. Goals? My mother cannot get out of bed on her own. She has medications being given to her that have drug interactions, several of them. I have sat up endless nights researching everything I can and calling, leaving messages for doctors, telling them about drug interaction possibilities and they dispute my suggestions. Well, I said before that I am not a RN, LVN, CNA, and I do not have PhD after my last name, but please, don't try and tell me about my mother. I know her. They know what is in a book based on case history studies done and clinical medical test data. My mother is an individual, a lady of 88 years deserving of the utmost respect.
I do not know if this story, as it is written here, makes any sense to you, the reader. To me none of if makes any sense. But I am referring to the obvious blatant critical errors by highly educated individuals, their absent efforts to fix it and their lame attempt to cover it up. My mom went to a different hospital after only a few days at home and is now in another skilled nursing place. I will continue to fight for her and hopefully it may prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.
