Witnessed Elder Abuse At Work (USA)

by pink2blue1

I am an LVN and I work in an acute care facility on a Surgical floor. We get patients who had had surgery or who are going to surgery for wahtever reason. We see a lot of elderly people with hip fractures. I was taking care of an 89 year old patient who lives with her daughter and she fell at home. She's a small petite lady about 99 lbs. When I had gotten report from the Night shift nurse, she had told me that the daughter was not very nice. That she "scrutinized" everything that the nurse had done.

First thing in the morning I had to obtain a phone consent for an IVC filter placement before this patient could go for her hip replacement in the afternoon. So I called the daughter. She was very pleasant. The patient was also pleasant and although confused she knew where she was, her name and b-day and why she was in the hospital. She went for her filter, and when she returned the daughter was at bedside.

I found the daughter to be pleasant with me and not scrutinizing as the night nurse had said.

About 12:30 in the afternoon the daughter called me to the room and said her mother needed a bed pan for a BM. The patient wanted to get out of bed, and I explained that she couldn't get up, as she was in traction and had a broken hip. She said she knew she had a hurt leg but that she couldn't turn to get on the pan. Anyways, in going back over this with her a second time, the daughter started shouting for her to shut up and let the nurse do her job. She shouted "mom you have a broken hip" then the patient said "My leg is broken because you shook it too hard" (saying this to her daughter)

I was like....Whoa, ok, so she's a bit confused. I reminded her that she had fallen at home and the daughter chimes in yelling that "You fell because youa re too stubborn to use your walker!" I excused myself and told the patient if she indeed needed the bed pan to please call me back.At 2:30 they were going to come get her for the OR. She had a Vanco on call to the OR, so I brought an RN in with me to hang that while I got her vitals. All the while the daughter was telling me that her mother needed her lexapro because she was "getting crazy" Even begged me to call the Dr. She had lexapro scheduled for 9PM and had gotten a dose the night before. While attempting to get her vitals, the patient became resistant and tried to pull the cuff off her arm. I just held her hand and then the daughter stood up and kept saying STOP IT MOM and actually Yelling very loudly. I just kept about my business, and then tried for a temp.

The patient, who I had done an oral temp on in the morning, pulled the thermometer out of her mouth, and again the daughter is shouting. By now I am ready to ask her to step out. I put the probe under the patients arm and the daughter took BOTH of the patients arems and forced them into the bed, holding on so tightly. Then before I could say a word the patient began yelling "HELP HELP HELP GET AWAY FROM ME" and what I saw next floored me.....the patients daughter took her hand and placed it over the patients mouth very harshly and pressed it into the patients face so hard. I finally said Please, this isn't necessary, it's ok. They can get the vitals down stairs in pre-op. I began shaking with anger, but kept calm.

I looked at the RN and she had this look like, what the heck! So then we looked and the patients mouth was bleeding and her lip was fat and the patient was obviously shaken. She kept saying over and over "I'm your mother why do you treat me this way" Then the daughter said "Mother you have been picking at your lips again, I can tell because you are bleeding!" OMG, OMG, OMG!!!! I am SOOOOOO Thankful that another nurses withness this with me. I have never ever in my whole 6 years in nursing seen someone so frustrated. Imagine if she does this in front of 2 nurses who are mandated reporters....what the heck.
We all began to think that maybe her hip did break because of how the patient had said. I immediately told the Charge RN, and then called the Dept manager and we had to call in social services. Thankfully both the RN who was hanging my Vanco for me and myself saw this. Even the cardiologist who went in just after we left said " man that is a family member who looks like she has just had enough" THEN we told him what happened. He had no idea of the events that just took place.
Has anyone ever seen this? I can't get the images out of my head. I was literally shaking and had the chills after this, it made

SOURCE: All Nurses
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Thank you for mentioning this case. Hopefully, the lady is now given protection from her daughter.
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