NHC Healthcare Sumter

I regretfully had to place my father in Nhc due to him not being able to stay home alone anymore. He has Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's related dementia. He entered walking with a walker, but left in a wheelchair. During his 9 week stay, he incurred over 30 falls, broken ribs, a brain bleed, and numerous contusions. On 4 different occasions I personally witnessed the nurses not giving him his correct dose of medication. When questioned, there was no apology, only excuses. He lost 35lbs. I fed him his dinner every night. There is a separate room for those who can't feed themselves, I helplessly watched as several residents dropped their food on themselves and the floor. There was only 1 CNA tasked with ensuring that 7 others were properly fed. On 5 separate occasions I found him lying in his urine, and other times the urine had already dried. I don't feel that the CNAs are trained on Parkinson's disease. They assumed my father was being difficult, when in fact he was Sundowning. He was having a hard time adjusting, but instead of empathy and patience, he was being chemically restrained and yelled at. When I tried to voice my concerns with the doctor, I was labeled as being difficult and trying to interfere with treatment. I know my father, he was having a bad reaction to the sedating medications. I was then told that I needed to pay extra money (on top of the $7k I already paid) to have someone babysit him during the evenings when he was Sundowning. When I said that wasn't possible, the administrator threatened to kick him out unless he stayed sedated. He became a liability due to the numerous emergency room visits. Not all of the CNAs and nurses were neglectful. There were a few that really cared and would assist me where they could and actually wanted to help my father. There were patient care meetings held to discuss positive outcomes, but the lead nurse sat there and rolled her eyes at my concerns. Then she and the administrator laughed about it. Literally sat there mocking me as if we were in high school. The most unprofessional meeting I have ever attended. I left there in tears. If you absolutely have to place your loved ones in NHC, please monitor them closely. Get involved, be their voice if needed. Once my dad was home, I weaned him off all the sedating medications and he got better. Now he attends an adult daycare and enjoys it. I wish I knew about that option beforehand.