The Guilford House

My Grandmother has only been at the Guilford House for 24hrs. She was hysterical this morning saying she is treated like a leper and they aren’t doing anything, she has just been sitting there. At 11:20 all that had happened was they gave her eggs and had her move her legs a bit with the therapist. I called nurses station right after and they confirmed nurses were behind and there were no vitals or anything written in her chart for the day so far. My gram also said she was given eggs with no beverage of any kind. We called to talk to Lisa the social worker and she brought us up to speed on my gram and I said I had some concerns about no nursing being given by 11:20, her not getting a beverage of any kind with her meal and the fact my gram was in good spirits at Yale 24hrs earlier and she is a crying mess and wants out of there. First Lisa recommended that my mother not call for 2 days because my gram was upset, which my mom did and took her advice. Lisa’s response to my concerns were atrocious! When I told her what my gram said about beverage she said “the drink station is right outside her room”. I said “you just said she can’t get up without assistance did you want her to get it herself?” Now mind you this is a social worker talking to a concerned family member on day one and Lisa’s response was “if you were at a restaurant and your server forgot your drink, would’t you just ask for it?” I wasn’t happy with that comment and l said “you are you comparing a 96 yr old with heart failure who has taken a bad fall to what I would do at a restaurant? Then she said when I expressed my concern of what my gram was saying “and your listening to her!”. Yes, I am because in my 43 years of knowing my gram I have no reason not to. Lisa said also aids must have done her vitals but they just aren’t on chart yet. How are they tracking patients vitals yet if they were done but not yet documented yet? Do they keep them in their head or write them on scrap paper? Not very assuring. Lisa is the social worker for this establishment and her compassion, ethics, words, tone and treatment are not that of any social worker, or medical professional I have met. I told her this and she “said come on you have to work with me here”. No wonder why she didn’t want us to contact my gram for a couple days. It’s so upsetting too because we can’t be there to see her or advocate for her and the contact we have had so far is not how a medical professional should act.

The Guilford House is a model of what all other Rehab/Skilled Nursing facilities should strive to be. It is, by far, the best on the Shoreline. This is a private husband and wife owned facility and everything is top notch--the staff, the decor, the food and the physical facility itself. The level of care from the CNAs, RNs, PT, OT, and onsite physicians is unsurpassed. This place is where all families should begin their search if rehab or skilled nursing is needed. If I could rate it ten stars, I would.