CONTACT FORM SUBMITTED AT: https://mycompletecare.com/contact

NAME: John Savvides

EMAIL: johnsavv@yahoo.com

COMPANY: Patient son

TYPE OF INQUIRY: Resident & Family Support

FACILITY: 

 	* Kimberly Hall South [https://mycompletecare.com/completecarekhs] 

MESSAGE: 
To Kimberly Hall Administration and Nursing Leadership,

I am writing this letter as Stella Savvides’s son, and honestly, I
am beyond upset and heartbroken over what I found when I returned to
see my mother.

I was away from April 22 through May 3, and today, May 4, the first
thing I did after getting home from the airport around 8:00–8:30 AM
was go directly to Kimberly Hall to see my mother. When I walked in, I
found her protective boots completely down at the bottom of her feet
instead of being properly positioned. My mother told me she had not
been changed since the night before.

When I asked the aide about it, I was told, “She’s confused, she
doesn’t know. I did change her.” That is not acceptable to me. My
mother is not confused about whether she has been changed or not. She
knows her body, and she knows when she has been sitting there wet.
When she was checked, she was soaked all the way through to the bed
pad.

My mother also stated she had not been turned in the last two hours.
This is one of the biggest concerns I have because now, after being
gone for 10 days, I come back and find out my mother has a new 1 cm x
7 cm open area on her upper back. This is being described as a
pressure area, and I cannot even put into words how upsetting that is
to me. There is no reason my mother should have another open wound on
her body while she is living in your facility.

I also need to be very clear about the missing Hoyer pad. Tom was made
aware on Friday before he left the facility that my mother’s Hoyer
pad was missing. In my opinion, he should not have left that facility
that day without making sure this was addressed immediately. That
Hoyer pad is not some optional piece of equipment. It is the safest
way to get my mother out of bed. Without it, she is at severe risk,
and now here we are, after a whole weekend/week going by, and my
mother has a new pressure wound.

To me, that is evidence that this was not handled with the urgency it
deserved. If my mother did not have her Hoyer pad, how was she
supposed to be safely transferred? How was she supposed to get out of
bed? How would staff get her out in an emergency? These are basic
safety concerns, and I want answers.

My mother has been at Kimberly Hall for almost two years, and I am
also extremely upset that she has not been properly showered. That is
disgusting to me. I do not say that lightly. Basic hygiene, turning,
repositioning, changing, skin care, safe transfers, and making sure
her equipment is available should be happening all the time. These are
not special requests. These are the basics of care.

As a nurse myself, I know CNAs and nurses work hard. I know they are
stretched thin. But I am telling you right now, the way things are
being done is not working. The aides should not be expected to serve
drinks, pass trays, clear plates, and do dietary work while also
caring for 10 residents each. How can any aide properly change people,
turn people, get people up for appointments, help with breakfast,
answer call bells, and give real care when they are also being used to
do food service? My mother’s food is constantly cold, and on top of
that, resident care is being missed.

This is not fair to the residents, and honestly, it is not fair to the
aides either. But the end result is that my mother is the one
suffering. She is the one sitting soaked. She is the one not being
moved enough. She is the one without the Hoyer pad. And now she is the
one with another open wound on her body.

My sister was also in the facility last evening for approximately an
hour and a half to two hours, and no aide ever came in to check on my
mother. My sister noticed my mother had increased wheezing and went
looking for the nurse, but could not locate her each time she went out
into the hallway. If my mother has not been out of bed for 5+ days due
to a missing Hoyer pad, then it is not surprising to me that her lungs
may now be worse. I want the APN to assess her today, head to toe,
including her lungs, skin, and wounds, and I want a chest X-ray
considered due to the increased wheezing. I also want a full body skin
check completed today with measurements, documentation, and answers.

My mother pays a lot of money out of pocket to live at Kimberly Hall.
But even if she paid nothing, every resident in that building deserves
to be clean, safe, turned, changed, showered, fed warm food, and
treated with dignity. These are human beings. They deserve care.

I want to know exactly how this happened and what is going to be done
to fix it. I want to know what the wound care plan is. I want to know
how often she is being turned and who is documenting it. I want to
know how often she is being changed and checked. I want to know why
the Hoyer pad issue was not fixed immediately when Tom knew about it
Friday. I want to know how staff planned to safely transfer my mother
without it. I want to know when she will be properly showered and what
the plan is to make sure this does not keep happening.

I am very angry, but more than that, I am scared for my mother. I was
gone 10 days and came back to her having a new sore. That is
unacceptable. This needs to be addressed immediately, and I want
administration, nursing leadership, the APN, and wound care involved
today.

I have been very honorable with Kimberly Hall, but this situation has
crossed a serious line for me. My mother’s care, safety, hygiene,
and dignity need to be treated as urgent priorities, not
afterthoughts. I expect this to be addressed immediately and with the
seriousness it deserves.

Please respond to me as soon as possible with what is being done for
my mother right now, what the plan is going forward, and how Kimberly
Hall is going to make sure this does not happen again.

Sincerely, 
John G. Savvides 
Son of Stella Savvides
