Brittany Morgan
1/5
My mother's name was Melanie, she lived at Brookdale in Decatur, AL. No health conditions, 110 lbs, was very active, drove places every day. 2 yrs ago, right after Christmas, she became sick with pneumonia which caused her mental state to become unstable, she was unable to get out of bed or call for help etc. Brookdale has a policy where residents are required to press a button by 10AM every day. If they don't, staff calls, if no answer they come into the apt to check & see if the resident "needs medical attention." My mother didn't press the button for 4 days. First day, she was irate with a staff member who came in. They left, thinking she was not feeling well. Next 2 days, no staff member came & checked on my mom. This was during COVID, so staff was also bringing 2 meals a day INTO her apt, stacking styrofoam plates on her table, counters, walking right by her open bedroom doorway where you could clearly see her laying, the apt smelling of urine from her soiling herself, unable to get out of bed. No one called or even text to let me know anything was wrong. My 3 kids & I already had plans to see her that weekend. The 4th day, they contacted me, told me she hadn't eaten or drank in 4 days, asked me if it was "a pattern" for her to do this. I went to her apt, immediately called for paramedics when I saw her condition. Her cell phone was lying under her, half charged. She died over 2 weeks later, at just 61 yrs of age, after an up & down struggle in the hospital, eventually succumbing to a stroke in her brain stem. I had to pull her from the vent & watch her die. Had to go through it all alone, she was all I had left after losing my grandmother a year prior. Drs were adamant that she wouldn't have died if she'd gotten medical help sooner. The policy at this facility desperately needs to be changed. How can it state that staff must check to see if a resident needs medical attention when there is no staff medically certified to do this If only I could go back.
