Idiots at assisted living ctr ... boxed meal for Christmas

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Arrgh! Cousin P and her Visiting Angels assistant, S, were totally peeved on Christmas day when dinner arrived and it was a boxed lunch with-a sandwich and chips. No turkey and stuffing, or ham, or mashed potatoes????
Can anyone spell S-C-R-O-O-G-E ?

I went into the kitchen this afternoon and spoke with-the chef. (He's a fast-food flipper, actually.) He said that the Resident Council, which consists of residents, along with-himself and the Activities Director, voted for the box dinner since the staff would be off that day.

Actually, he said it was the residents, and then I said, "Isn't there anyone helping them make those decisions?" He responded that the Activities Director and he were there. Sure, let the residents decide something totally stupid and cheap and then say, "What a GREAT idea! Next Christmas, we'll have Gummy Bears and boxed flakes of mashed potatoes and the residents can add their own water from their bathroom sinks!"

He said they need more residents to volunteer to be on the committee. And that the menu was published in advance.

This place makes me nuts.

Thanks for listening.

:crazy2:
 
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Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Sorry Terry. This is common. Small lunch type meals are usually served for dinner as residents often prefer it and it seems to help with digestive issues. The larger "dinner" type meal is usually served at noon.

And yeah, I was surprised myself. This is something that is a new trend. I thought mother in law would be upset, but she loved it.

Staff cooked her xmas dinner at noon, well.....it did for clients that weren't with family.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
That stinks. For many clients there is not a whole lot to look forward to, I would imagine a xmas meal would be one of them. Served at noon I don't see what the big deal would've been. Of course I'm not so sure I understand why on earth staff would be off that day either. Clients still have to eat, regardless. Kitchen staff can take turns with holidays same as the other staff do. sheesh.

mother in law's had a nice xmas lunch and then carols and such in the activity area. Quite nice, although nothing extravagant.
 

Marcie Mac

Just Plain Ole Tired
For Thanksgiving, the home where SO's mom is had a candle light dinner for the residents and family - it was half of a cornish game hen and it actually was pretty good. They had this older gentleman singing and he had the speakers so loud we all got a head ache. Plus his choice of songs left a lot to be desired - like the one that went "Im so lonely I could cry". LOL

For the Christmas candle light dinner, they passed around Pot Pies that were SOOOO salty no one in the entire dining room ate them, and were asking for other things and there wasn't anything else. SO is always making a fuss when it comes to the meals there- so much so that his Mom has her choice of decent food, and the others if they or their families don't make a fuss, the food is terrible.

Marcie
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Definitely, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I love the concept of a candle light dinner and cornish game hen. Not sure this staff could pull it off though. :(
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
I haven't EVER seen boxed meals.
Big special at lunch - yes. So the staff can spend the evening with family. Fair enough - residents don't need huge meal at supper anyway. Here... that's three days in a row (24/25/26). Still fair.

But NOTHING? No "special day" stuff?
SCROOGE x 100.
Bah!
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Terry you have constant problems with this placement. It sounds more awful than the place my mother was in and that place was no peach. You are paying good money for this place, she isnt there as some charity case. Actually I have seen the places that the people on Medicaid alone get into and they are downright nice at least here because it is a roll of the dice where the Medicaid people end up when their time comes up. And if your cousin is in a place when her funds run out, they have to keep her where she is. I would move her to a place where she is getting better care now.

I would bet my right arm this is a chain. I would honestly look for a place that is associated with a religious type bent at this time. Normally I wouldnt say that but the two very best ones here are one that is a Lutheran home and one that is Methodist. They dont push their views but I think its just that they care more for their clients as a calling instead of just dollar signs. And you could bet your bottom dollar they wouldnt serve a boxed lunch for Xmas!
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
Ditto Janet......when Medicaid takes over....they can downgrade the room type, but can not force a move to another Home. mother in law's place always did a Xmas party between Xmas and New Year for the residents and their guests.
 

svengandhi

Well-Known Member
My aunt's place offered a full Thanksgiving Day dinner but we brought her here for the day. I don't know what they did for Christmas - we're Jewish so it's just another day to us. I spoke to her that day and she didn't mention the food. I have to see what's on the menu for New Year's Eve. My aunt complains about the food but we've eaten with her several times and it's fine.

Maybe you should look for another facility because you're so unhappy with this one.
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
My mother works in the kitchen at a retirement home - and I know they served cold sandwiches for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The reasoning had to do with being short-staffed (just about all the employees planned to take the day off), many of the residents would be picked up by family members, plus sandwiches "keep" better if residents wanted to grab something to eat that was not during the normal meal times. So, not very festive - but commonly done.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
You guys are so much better at web searching than I am...but...last year I did a search of retirement communities and was very surprised that each facility was rated with specific categories which included meals. There is a National or State Board that monitors these facilities. I was quite surprised, for example, that a Catholic group (my bro is very into his religion) had a lovely senior home and the ratings were not above average. DDD
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Thats why you have to visit these places DDD. I went and checked into all these places when I was looking at them for my mom but when push came to shove I had my back against the wall because I had to take her into the ER and then she was placed into the hospital until we could place her into the first place that had an opening. If I could have waited for her doctor to place her, I could have picked the place I wanted when they had an opening.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I do think that you need to go look at some other facilities, Terry. This one doesn't seem to give a hoot. You should NEVER have to worry about her running out of medications, or not being given appropriate care. You have had that problem a LOT, not just with this cat bite. The cat bite should have been monitored more than just having the dressing changed once a day and then staff would have caught it before it got so bad. If WE know that the elderly can go from fine to seriously ill in a matter of a day, then the staff dealing with the elderly every day should know it also.

You have had to push far too hard and far to often for P's basic needs to be appropriately cared for, and in my opinion this place just doesn't care if she lives or dies as long as they get paid.

I cannot fathom paying what an assisted living facility costs and having a box lunch like that for Christmas. My gma's ALF had a wonderful meal on Christmas Eve with all the trimmings. On the day they had a special breakfast, a nice cold buffet lunch, and dinner was something the residents voted on - usually a choice between Italian or Chinese that were either made by staff ahead of time or (esp when they chose Chinese) was brought in from a restaurant and supplemented with salad, vegges, fruit and several nice desserts. Patients who were not able to get to the dining room had meals taken to them and there were activities all day for those with no relatives to spend the day with.

I know the move would be a real hassle, but it might save you these endless battles and problems. If you cannot move her, would you consder being on that panel that decides the menus? probably a PITA, but you might make a real difference to the residents.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
Oregon had lots of homes that were in old Catholic Parishes. They had the schools, the Rectory, the Nunnery all done up with rooms for residents, and they always had great staff. I know it was hell getting your aunt in there, but is there any way to look for something else before her money runs out? Once it's gone she'll be at their mercy.

Also, whatever happened with her antibiotic?
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
I've been thinking about your post. Some years ago my next door neighbor opted to move into a nursing home. The one she chose was not the closest one and many of her friends encouraged her to come live where they were (or had plans to move when the time was right). She told me "I've visited XYZ a number of times and it feels more like a family home." That is where she went and I visited her at least twice a week for three years. They did not celebrate Christmas on Christmas etc. They celebrated every single holiday including Valentine's Day with decorations on the doors, contests between the nurses and aids to see which door was decorated best...and the residents planned the decor as part of "their" door team. Their holiday meals were held a few days early and were festive and appropriate. The residents (and their families/caretakers) all had calendars showing what the menu and plan was a month in advance. The residents enjoyed "their" holiday but felt happy that the staff was enjoying the holiday with their own family members.

I had rather forgotten about that until thinking about your Aunt. Having a box meal or soup/sandwich on Christmas really isn't a trauma IF you have had an appropriate Merry Christmas celebration prior to the 25th. It seemed to work out as a win/win for my friend, Molly. DDD
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Right. Thank you all.
I DID take the closest place. One block from the therapist's office. I kid you not.
That therapist is still seeing elderly pts. I will write her a note and tell her not to recommend this place any more.

It is a chain, Janet, and you can buy stock. Unless I can do a hostile takeover, I'm not buying. But after I move P, I will write a note to the CEO. Not before ... don't want to risk retaliation.

I took photos of her leg and the bandage today. The nurse who bandaged it last, K, initialed it as per instructions. Two days ago.
I will stop by and see if it's still the same one tomorrow. Still, they're supposed to change it daily.

Whoever suggested photos, thank you!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
P.S. I am very pro-corporation and pro-business but not this one. I'll stick with-Starbucks and Panera and JoAnn Fabrics ... and a few more, but you get the idea.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
The family doctor I used to see, who actually is still in the practice I use now, was the doctor associated with the nursing home my mom was in. If he saw all those patients then no wonder he stopped actually being at the practice I was going to except for maybe one day a week. He wouldnt have had time. Supposedly he stopped practicing at his "office" except for part time and did mostly hospital and the nursing home work.
 
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