“Senior in Nursing Home Diagnosed Pneumonia 9/3/21 - Still Struggling?”
- Rx breathing treatments, also I *think* steroid and antibiotic. Standard protocol for this infection iirc
-The nursing home care worries me. They have mostly temp staff, there is a lot of miscommunication.
-Visitors r restricted b/c covid outbreaks, I'm not able to check on patient daily, and depend on feedback from staff.
-The medical staff (doctors and nurse practitioners) who are contracted by SNF are difficult to reach, seem reluctant to deal directly with family members of residents.
-11/25/21 resident has a violent, hacking couch, loud wheezing, does not feel she has improved. Still receiving breathng trts. I can't get a pulmonologist appt until Jan 6, 2022! I asked if the resident should go out to ER, was told holidays are bad.
-Sickness doesn't care about holidays. But I hate to demand she be taken to ER, fear exposure to covid et al might be dangerous. Please advise!
Female | 86 years old
Complaint duration: 3 months
Medications: Norco, lyrica, depakote, cymbalta, __ I'm not certain, NH changes meds and doesn't inform me
Conditions: Spinal cord damage (wheelchair bound), intractable pain, lymphaedema, obesity, arthritis, depression, history of bronchitis , intractable pain, dementia, depression
1 Answer
Be well
Brent Reinheimer, MD
