ComplaintsforWindsong At Southridge

• Initial Complaint

  05/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My husband was receiving care at Windsong this spring when he suffered several fallls, which made his mobility decrease. This was primarily due to lack of adequate levels of trained staff. On March 12 he was diagnosed with COVID and hospitilzed where he was in a step down unit off the *** for 6 days in isolation. As he struggled with the disease it became very evident to me (retired RN) that he would not be able to return to Windsong as he required assistance eating and was unable to stand and walk more than 2 steps even with two people assisting him. I notified Windsong to that effect and began to search for an alternative if he should recover. I was able to locate an facility nearby that would take him with only 4 other patients and trained staff and all the appropriate equipment. The hospital was urging us to leave asap as they were needing the bed so he came out of isolation and was moved the following day. (3/19) All his items were removed from Windsong on the 16th of March. I want a refund for the rent for the remaining days of the month. (16th -31st) ($3480) Windsong refused stating that I was to have an RN from their facility come and evaluate him to release him without penalty. They only have an LPN on staff who has less training than I do. Furthermore, he was in isolation. Please help me, I need the money for his future care. Thanks, *************************

  Business response

  06/03/2024

  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  

  Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We take all complaints seriously and appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns raised by ********************************* and his wife,******************************.
  Complaint Overview:
  

  ******************************** moved into Windsong at Southridge on January 12, 2023. Up until the recent situation, there had been no reported care concerns. On March 11,2024, ****************** had a medical concern and was sent to the ** on March 12,2024, for further evaluation. On March 13, 2024, ******************* visited our community and reported that ****************** was being moved to a hospice house,which is considered a higher level of care. On March 16, 2024, ******************* visited again and removed all of ********************** belongings. When we inquired at the hospital to conduct an assessment that would determine if his care was above the services Windsong can provide, we were informed by the hospital discharge planner that ****************** was moved to an adult family home, which is not a higher level of care. According to our admission agreement, 30 days notice is required for moving out. Unfortunately, this is a breach of the admission agreement.
  

  Resolution Steps:
  After careful consideration, we agreed to refund the care level fees for the period from March 16, 2024, to March 31, 2024, even though ****************** had already paid for room/board and care level through March 31, 2024. Additionally, we have decided not to charge the Aronsons for the period extending to April 15, 2024, despite the lack of a 30-day notice.
  

  Fall History:
  While we regret any distress caused by these incidents, it is important to note that ****************** received appropriate care and attention following each occurrence.
  We hope this response clarifies our position and the actions we have taken to resolve this matter amicably. We are committed to providing the highest level of care and service to all residents and families we work with.
  

  Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
  

  Sincerely,
  

  ********************************
  Executive Director
  Windsong at Southridge
  ****************************************************************

  Customer response

  06/14/2024

  Hi ********,  Thank you for your prompt response.  I had not received this response.  First of all, my husband's care was adequate the first year, for the most part until there was a change in management or higher level staffing, including the position which ***** now holds.  He was ambulatory, able to feed and toilet himself.  I began to notice massive changes in staff and care decline early this year.  I dispute her claim that they were not made aware of my concerns regarding his care.  I contacted her and requested a room change because my husband was isolating himself in his room due to what he perceived as bullying by another resident.  I spoke personally with her and told her that I had seen this person stick out his leg to block the path of another resident who was walking in front of his chair with a ******.  Her response was that my husband was delusional and moving him would not solve the problem as he would just choose another person to assume the role of bullying.  I also spoke with several staff on different occasions complaining about my husband not being dressed in clean clothes and occasionally in his own feces.  I asked them why I always had to change him and shave him when I came in three times a week.   My husband then suffered a series of falls, beginning in Oct. 2023.   I did speak personally with *******, the student nurse (LPN)  regarding the rudeness of one of the staff after one of his falls.  (He had 5 falls in 10 days) .  I have documentation and hospital ** records for those falls and family member who will testify as to his dirty clothes and the state of his bathroom.  (ask ***** why  his sheepskin slippers were not returned when we moved his things out of his room...answer they were discarded,  as they were full of his feces.  I had to bring his tennis shoes home in plastic bags to be cleaned for the same reason. )His falls were due to inadequate staff training and levels.  ( examples include:  his ****** being placed 15 feet across the room while he was in his bed or recliner. so when he needed to use the toilet,  his ****** was often across the room. ) *** call  lights in the room for assistance do not work or if they do there are few staff to respond.  I asked staff to toilet him  2-3 hours after meals to prevent him trying to walk alone, which didn't happen.    I also asked ******* as to why my husband's caregivers were not putting the *** hose on my husband that the PA ordered.  He brought in a pair and personally put them on my husband but that was the only time I saw him wear them.  I asked ***** for a bed alarm ( pressure pad which alarms when the person moves off it) hoping to prevent future falls.  This was after the 5th fall.  It was supposed to move with him to his recliner as needed.  I would often visit and find it on the bed or recliner where he wasn't .  When I was called in the middle of the night to be told he had fallen again, I asked if the bed alarm had been in use.  *** caretaker hung up on me.

    ***n my husband contracted COVID even after having received all his shots and boosters.  I blame this again on poor staff training and levels.  Most of the staff there are not NAC or CNA licensed.  *** caregivers they use are learning on the job from other caregivers with the same limited skill set.  *** staff turnover is appalling and therefore any of the people who I addressed my concerns with are probably no longer working there.  (except ***** and maybe *******) I asked one of them to please wear her mask properly as it was only covering her mouth.  I have never seen a caregiver wash their hands after contact with patients either.  *** facility was on lockdown for a week, then open and then back on lockdown with new cases. On March 11, I was notified by phone that my husband had tested positive for Covid.  I was asked to go to the pharmacy to get an antiviral med that evening but the pharmacy said they were not able to fill the ** because of some recall problem.  Early the next morning at 3:30 AM he was sent to the hospital.  He was placed on life support for three days, the first 16 hours in the ** due to lack of  beds in the unit.  I wrote a letter to Windsong to terminate his care there and delivered it on the 13th.  ( see attached copy) I spent the following week with him in isolation not sure he would recover but knowing that if he did he would need a higher level of care than he would get at Windsong.  He was finally able to stand and walk to a chair with two people using a gait belt.  He needed help feeding himself and total hygiene care.   Family has to provide all the furnishing for the apartments at Windsong.  I knew we would need a hospital bed, bedside tray table, ***** lift, fall mats etc., all which take time to obtain and place at Windsong.  Luckily, with help with the hospital placement team, I was advised that an opening was available at an adult family home which provided all of those items and staff that are well trained in their use. *** staff levels were 1 or 2 CNA/NAC to five patients. with supervision by an RN. *** hospital was asking us to vacate as they needed the room for patients being held in the **, so the following Tuesday after he tested negative,  he was placed in an adult family home, not in hospice care.  He has subsequently been placed in care of ******* as of the end of April but that was not the case when the termination letter was written.  He has not fallen since,even with his declining health and his care has been excellent.

  I did speak with ***** in April  again requesting my refund and was told by her that because the Adult family home is licensed as an "assisted living" as is Windsong, that they would  not refund his rent because they could provide the same level of care.  Her reasoning was that staff and facility would have been able to need his needs even with the two person assist and ***** lift needed.    (which they don't have nor staff trained in it's use) I told her that the staffing levels they have, one to two caregivers to 20 patients with one on at night for the same patients was not sufficient to prevent any more falls, nor his increased needs for help eating etc.  I was also told that I was supposed to call and have their nurse ( nursing student with no hands on experience) evaluate him to see if his needs were above what they could provide before they would release us from the 30 day notification.  I asked her how I was supposed to do that when he was in isolation for all but one day of his hospital care.  She had no answer.  Not one of them called to ask about my husband during his hospital care.

  So after the beginning of the year, I began to look for alternative care for my husband. I was placed on a waiting list for an adult family home.  I was planning on moving my husband in any case but my plan was derailed by COVID.  Because of his hospitalization, decline in mobility, self care ability, lack of medical equipment and staff trained in its use, I, as a retired RN, knew that immediate changes had to be made.  *** hospital placement staff were in total agreement. *** Windsong contract states that if the patient needs hospitalization and  advanced care the room rent is refundable.

  As you can tell, I am very upset by their lack of compassion and communication.  I am considering contacting health care agencies in the state as to my concerns for their caregiving.  In the meantime,  I again am requesting a refund for his room fees, since they have already acknowledged that his 30 day notice is refundable.  I need the money for his continued care.  

  Please see attached termination letter.  Thanks for your continued assistance.  *****

  Business response

  07/09/2024

  Dear ********,
  

  I want to begin by offering ****************** my condolences for the loss of her husband. While his time at Windsong might not have looked perfect from her standpoint, we loved having him
  

  Next, I want to address the fee dispute. Windsong's fees are based on two components: a level of care fee and an apartment rental fee. ********************** level of care fee was $900 per month, and his apartment rental fee was $7,185.00 per month, totaling $8,085 per month. Windsong does not charge level of care fees from the day after a resident leaves for the hospital until the resident returns. Since ****************** left for the hospital on 3/12 and did not return, he was refunded for the period from 3/13 to 3/31. A refund check for $551.64 was issued, but a balance of $6.00 was left in the account from the previous month, resulting in a refund of $545.64.
  

  Part Two, Paragraph 6 of the admission agreement (attached) provides that if a resident leaves the community for medical reasons and cannot return, the rent will continue for up to 15 days. ****************** left the facility on 3/12, and 15 days from that date is 3/27. Therefore, Windsong was entitled to charge rent until 3/27, even if ****************** could not return to the facility. However,based on Ms. ******** emails (discussed in greater detail below), it is clear that Windsong could have cared for ******************. Therefore, Part One, Paragraph 17 of the admission agreement controls the fees that Windsong is entitled to charge. That paragraph states: You agree to give a thirty (30) day advance written notice of termination of this agreement. ****************** advised Windsong that ****************** would not return on 3/14 (see attached). Therefore, Windsong was entitled to charge rent through 4/13 but elected to stop rental charges effective 3/31.
  

  Ms. ******** emails state that her husband needed assistance with feeding and mobility that Windsong could not provide. The emails alternately state he could pivot transfer with the assistance of two persons or that he required transfer via a ***** lift. Windsong actively provides help to those who need assistance with eating or mobility (see Part One, Paragraph 2 of the admission agreement and the attached disclosure of services). Windsong staff are fully trained and experienced in two-person pivot transfers and ***** lift use. In fact, Windsong had several residents in March 2024 who were using them. It is true that Windsong does not own a ***** lift. However, ***** lifts are rented from a durable medical equipment company for any resident that needs one, upon receipt of an order from a physician. Alternatively, the hospice company provides ***** lifts for those who are on hospice.
  

  It is significant to note that ****************** never requested Windsongs nurse (who is a licensed practical nurse, not a student) to evaluate her husband to determine whether Windsong could still meet his needs. She contends that such an evaluation was not possible because ****************** was in isolation. The Windsong nurse would simply have worn appropriate PPE during the evaluation,just like the hospital nurses were wearing while caring for ******************.Windsong also could have evaluated care needs by speaking to the hospital discharge planner and/or reviewing hospital records. ****************** did not provide records, nor were we notified to evaluate ****************** to determine if his level of care was more than we could provide. ****************** simply decided that her husband wasnt returning to Windsong.
  

  Windsong will consider a refund of the rent in March, but only for the days after they removed his belongings, which are from 3/17 to 3/31, totaling $3,476. However, I want to be clear that Windsong did not violate any rules outside of the contract. We are very sorry that we were not given the opportunity to continue his care at Windsong. We wish ****************** the best in her life and hope she can find some peace moving forward.
  Sincerely,
  
  ********************************
  

  Executive Director 

  Customer response

  07/10/2024

   
  Complaint: 21749316
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Staffing levels/ caregivier training were not adequate for his care needs before he became ill with COVID .  Therefore I have no doubt they would not be able to meet his needs when he returned.  We request the refund for his rent from the time his personal items were removed.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Customer response

  07/24/2024

  I am requesting the refund for the days remaining in the month my husband was hospitalized.  *** resident bill of rights page 1 states that residents must be recieve a clean, SAFE environment.  it further states that residents must be free from chemical or physical restraints.  ( I was told by ***** that I could not use a bed with rails for this reason to prevent any more falls)  I asked for a pressure mat (alarms when the patient gets up) and was eventually given one afte 5 falls in 10 days.  I would visit to find it on the bed when he was in his chair, in the chair while he was in bed or not even turned on.  His walere was often 25 feet away from bed or chair.  His razor was stolen and had to be replaced.  His sheepskin slippers were discarded as they were filled with his f**** and couldn't be cleaned.  Page 3 states that residents can be transferred for resident welfare and needs which can't be met by facility.  It does not state a requirment that the facility decides this with an LPN with limited clinical experience.  I, as a retired RN living at the hospital with my critically ill (COVID) husband was keenly aware that he needed a ***** lift, hospital bed with rails, alarm mats and a higher degree of trained staff for transfer and moving/feeding help.  Page 4 states that the 30 day notice can be waived for the health and safety of the patient or urgent medical needs.  *** hospital was requesting that we move as soon as possible because they had a critically ill patient in ER needing our room.  We were offered a bed nearby with all the equipment provided (***** lift, hospital bed with rails, fall mats, fully trained, RN supervised staff with a patient ration of 1-2 to 5 patients.)   My husband was still quite ill and never fully recovered.  He was placed in Hospice a month later.

  I believe that the poor care he received at Windsong shortened his life.  He was mobile and healthy when he arrived but the last six months saw a significant decline in staff levels and poor response to my complaints.  I don't understand the reluctance to issue a refund.  *** room was re-rented soon after our departure.  I think this is more about greed than consideration for patient's and their families.  I am considering further legal action.

  Business response

  08/01/2024

  Dear ********,
  

  Our response to the grievance is to provide the refund ******************* requested. We initially proposed an amount of $3,476, and she is asking for $3,480, which is acceptable. We can have the check ready for her by August 10th.
  We will await her response and proceed with issuing the check on or before August 10th. Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
  

  Best regards,

  ********************************, Executive Director

  Customer response

  08/05/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I appreciate your assistance in this matter and am grateful that Windsong has been willing to find a solution.  They have my address to mail the refund to .  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

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