I used this company for 24 hr. care, for my elderly parents, for approx 2 months. After getting some kinks out, things were going fairly well.
Until......
My 89 yr old dad had emergency surgery, and went to a rehab/nursing facility. He was experiencing 'sundowners' at night. (total confusion, combative, danger to himself and others, and a fear of him pulling out either his pick line, or catheter.)
I contracted (through the agency) the same caregiver he had at home, to be a 'sitter', with him, from 9:00p-9:00a.
I was to pay $160 for 12 hrs. The same amount I was paying for 24 hr care, which included light housekeeping, driving, meal prep, help with personal hygiene, etc.
When I questioned the cost, I was told that because it's in a hospital setting as a sitter, it would mean that the caregiver would have to BE AWAKE WITH HIM AT ALL TIMES, different from being at the home, and sleeping at night. I understood.
The caregiver texted me, the second morning, stating that she was 'sorry, but he pulled out his pick line, while 'she was in the bathroom.'
What???!
This resulted in my father having to be ambulanced back to the hospital, to have his pick line re-inserted!
(A pick line is serious, not just an IV)
Because I wasn't thinking clearly, I believed her. At the time I was exhausted and a basket case from what I had been dealing with, with my dad that week (life support included, and my 88 yr old mom at home experiencing early signs of dementia.
Think of my horror, when the night nurses pulled me aside later that afternoon, to tell me they had caught the caregiver laying down on the couch, IN THE TV ROOM, not once, but a couple of times, throughout her shift!!!!!
The TV room, isn't even close to where his room was located.
When I contacted the agency owner in a rage, she tried DEFENDING the caregiver by saying that 'in hospital settings, it's not unusual for things to happen at times.'
I'm sorry, 'things happen at times', when 1 nurse is taking care of 5 patients and can't be 5 places at once.
I paid $160 for 1 on 1 so 'THINGS WOULDN'T HAPPEN!!'
Do you leave a toddler in the bathtub by himself for 2 min? Let alone, go lay down in ANOTHER room?? Do you leave a toddler alone near a pool?
'THINGS HAPPEN' in 5 seconds!!!
She was supposed to ring for a nurse, and inform her/him that she needed a bathroom break, etc., so they could keep an eye out.
The nurses informed me that sitters are common for some patients, and that they had never seen this happen before. That sitters never leave the room, and ONLY for a bathroom break, with someone covering for them.
The nurses told me that when the caregiver informed them what had happened, she actually told them that 'she wasn't where she was supposed to be at the time.'
And all of the nurses involved agreed, that they didn't buy that it happened when she was so called 'in the bathroom.'
We also had determined that some money had 'gone missing' from his wallet, in the time the caregiver took my father to the ER, and left with his clothes and belongings (already in car by the time I got to my dad) to go back up to the house to be with my mom.
Needless to say, we never mentioned this, because obviously, unless you catch someone in the act, you can't prove anything, but it was very unsettling and we really didn't want to believe it.
So NO, I CAN'T PROVE THIS, but it's seems like an awfully big coincidence AND more suspicious, since now my trust in this person was completely shattered.
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