A Petition for Damages was filed in the 10th Judicial District Court on May 15 against the Natchitoches Nursing and Rehabilitation Center by family members of Eirdish Beaudoin who was under the facility’s care when she died from exposure to Covid-19 on or about May 2. The family members claim that her death was the result of the grossly negligent actions and/or inactions of the facility and its employees (SEE DOCUMENT BELOW).
The old days, I worked in Nursing Homes with women who were so humble, joyful and loving. I called them angels. Not so today. For one thing, there were more aides per residents. Then came the State. With their regulations in order to be accredited. This accreditation was so vast and requires realms of paperwork. Then came new positions that were created to accomplish this evaluation. More people hired to work in an office only, and less hands on care. Now when I visit a friend in a nursing home, I see 2-3 people just sitting at he desk??? I never had time for that.. The call lights are answered at the desk, , the request for help on the intercom is announced, but no one goes to help. Times have changed, people have changes (don’t see the angels anymore). SO the question is: Will a lawsuit improve the conditions in these facilities?
What on earth is wrong with you people.If the patient caught Covid-19 while in the nursing home. How do you think they caught it. The vast majority of them are bed bound and can not leave so if they were safe at home WHO BROUGHT IT TO THEM. REALLY!!! GO TEND TO YOUR OWN LIVES AND LEAVE THIS FAMILY ALONE. Im disappointed at all the negative words we have for each other instead of supporting each other.
Don, just what nursing home did you have a loved one in that you can make these statements? Maybe the land of oz, because I don’t think it’s a nursing home here in Natchitoches. I have had experience in dealing with one of them and believe me, it was not always a pleasant experience. My mother was in one, and I had several face to face “come to Jesus” meetings with managements concerning the care of my mother. I had a sitter with her from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday to help her eat, get her to the bathroom, and bathe her. Only on weekends and evenings was the staff asked to do anything. The sitter even got her ready for bed, and put the call button close where she could reach it. So what happened in the few hours the staff had to look after my mother. Let’s name a few things. When she had to get up one night, they came, but when they put her back in bed, they raised the bed but FORGOT TO PUT THE RAIL UP, during the night she thought she needed to go the the bathroom again and fell about three feet or more to the tiled floor. Can you imagine being 89 years old and falling that distance to fall on a hard floor? We had a long talk and they did agree that she needed a mat beside the bed and the bed kept lower so if she fell it would not be so painful. A few weeks later, she pressed the call button for help in going to the bathroom. NO ONE CAME, so she got up and tried to go by herself even though she was not able to walk without help and in addition, the room was fairly dark. SHE STUMBLED AND FELL INTO THE DOOR! It bruised the entire side of her face and gave her a terrible black eye. There was never anyone on her wing to help patients, they had to come from another wing. You want to tell me that is care for patients. My mother had dementia, but it wasn’t bad yet, but she hated being alone. When no one came into the room when she called, she would think she was in a deserted place and all alone. All it would have taken was an aide coming into the room to say hi and speak to her. Instead they closed the blinds, kept the room dark, and ignored her crying because “she cries a lot”. How can anyone not care about an elderly patient’s fear, even though we know it’s all in their head. Opening the blinds, turning on the lights, getting her dressed and around others would have stopped the crying, but no one wanted to take the trouble to do that. They had depended on the sitter I paid for to do for my mother, and it seemed they felt they shouldn’t have to take care of her at all. They dressed other patients and rolled them down to be with a group, why not her. We even lost her pajamas and clothes to other patients, even though they were clearly labeled with her name.
On her 90th birthday, I had planned a little party for her. I spent the morning at home, getting things together, then got there early to fix her hair. When I walked in the room she was sobbing, and it appeared she had been crying for a while as her face was swollen and red. An aide walked in and I asked about why she was crying. The reply, “She always crying, so we just leave her alone and let her cry.” I was furious. Just what do they think their job is. She was alone in a dark room as usual, and in her pajamas. Her breakfast was sitting on the tray, cold, as she had difficulty feeding herself. Yet I could walk down the hall and see other people with an aide helping a patient eat or get dressed. But not my mother, she was left in a dark room, in her pajamas, blinds closed, and nobody caring that she was scared and upset. Their idea of care was to just shut the door and forget this poor woman who could not walk or eat without help. You call that dedication to the care of patients, I call it abuse of the patient.
Finally, her rehab time was over, thought it didn’t help much, and we brought her home. She could walk a few steps then it was usually her knees giving out and we had to hold her to get her to the bathroom To go any distance, she was in a wheel chair. The way she was treated there still makes me angry. She has gone on to a better place now, and for that I’m thankful, though I miss her so very much.
So unless things have changed, please don’t tell me that “the nursing personnel of nursing homes are dedicated to the care of their patients. It is a demanding and awesome responsibility!” because I don’t believe one word. My grandfather was in a different nursing home, 97 years old, and they jerked him around rather than moving him gently so that he was not afraid.
So sad you had such a terrible experience for your parents. My mother was in a nursing home in south La for 4 years before she passed at 99 years and I can say she received competent care. As stated in my post, some lawsuits may be warranted but my concern is that this pandemic is going to result in wide spread unjustified lawsuits.
Here come the law suites! Every loss of life is a tragedy, especially for the family of the loved one, but not every loss in a nursing home is due to neglect or incompetence. I know from experience how the nursing personnel of nursing homes are dedicated to the care of their patients. It is a demanding and awesome responsibility! I don’t know the merits of this case but I do know that far too many deaths from this virus are going to be blamed on incompetence of the medical caretakers. Do you think the family of a patient who survives the virus will be as likely to praise the nursing staff for their competence?
I predict that we are going to see a significant increase in law suites related to deaths of this pandemic some of which may be justified. Many will be settled out of court. Perhaps we should ponder-Who benefits the most, family or lawyers?
Huge Lie
I feel so sorry for the loss of life and family members not being able to comfort their family’s