Care At Home - Diocese of Brooklyn in New York

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  M. V.M.

  :: 18 February 2016 13:24:12

  My Grandmother is very sick, having acquired a bedsore from a hospital stay, which is still under daily treatment. At present, she requires skilled and attentive care. I called Care at Home before starting services with them to let them know her situation and that her insurance had approved live-in aides. She has advanced Alzheimer's and is completely dependent for all her needs, so she requires turning every 2 hours to avoid further bedsores. I was completely upfront and honest with the woman I spoke with at intake and she assured me it would not be a problem to provide an experienced, mature aide. Services began on a Monday. The aide was two hours late to begin with. I spent over an hour with her, doing the complete training, going over every possible aspect of my Grandmother's care...all while holding my 18 month old in my arms. The aide seemed to understand and didn't express any concerns to me. About an hour later, the initial assessment nurse showed up. This nurse, Marina, was immediately incredibly rude and abrasive. Within moments of arriving, Marina began barking at me about the placement of the bed for the aides. We were all in the bedroom with my Grandmother and I was holding my daughter while this was all taking place. I explained to the nurse that it was not a big deal to put the bed back in another room, where it had been previously and it could be done that day. I also explained that it was there at the request of previous aides because it enabled them to keep an eye on Grandma during the night and it made turning her every 2 hours easier on the aide, at which point she began yelling at me that the aide goes to bed at 8:00 pm and did not have to do anything for 12 hours, until 8:00 am the next day. She refused to ask her aide to turn my Grandmother every 2 hours, despite doctor's orders and obvious need. At that point the aide chimed in and began complaining about how she should be getting paid $15 an hour for a case like this. I explained to Marina that I had spoken with her agency before starting services about my Grandma's requirements and was assured that it wasn't a problem. I would never have hired them if I had known they would behave this way. Marina said that it's not up to the people in the office, she has final say and she was going to pull her aide unless I agreed to let them neglect my Grandmother's need for turning and care overnight. I even got the insurance agency on the phone with her to explain split-shift would begin within 3 days, so it would only be like this temporarily, but that wasn't good enough for her. It just blew up from there and ended up with both nurse and aide leaving and my Grandmother without an aide for over 48 hours. When I called the agency to tell them this, I couldn't get a supervisor on the phone and despite numerous calls, was never called back. I'd say this agency is a joke, but this was no laughing matter. This agency actually put my Grandmother's life in jeopardy and had no conscience about walking out on a completely vulnerable human being, in need of care. They knew that and didn't give a damn. I would bring them up on charges, if it was possible. If you care about your loved one, don't even consider this agency.