father with a PEG tube is getting his hands on food

My father is in a nursing home after having a PEG tube inserted into his stomach. He is unable to swallow due to Parkinson's disease. Anything that goes into his mouth will go right into his lungs causing pneumonia. His doctor put him on 1800 calories a day. We have told his doctor many times that is not enough. He needs more calories. My dad tells us he is starving. He begs us for food and he cries so much. He hates being there also. We want him home, but his doctor said if we take him home he will no longer be his doctor for going "AMA" against medical advice. My dad is able to steal food from his neighbors, he steals it from the employees refridgerator, he gets it wherever he can. The nurses know it and they have told us, after we see it in his beard. This past weekend he came down with another bad case of pneumonia and his oxygen level was down to 90%. His doctor was not available over the weekend so an on-call doctor put him on antibiotics and he is doing better. My dads doctor said he is doing fine. After much urging from us, he raised my dads calories from 1800 to 2000 a day. He said "we don't want him to get fat". My father is 6'4" and used to be 210 lbs. He has lost 50 lbs in about 2 months time. My dad is being starved to the point of scrounging around for anything he can get his hands on. He has beds sores from not being turned on a regular basis also. He will lay in bed wet until it is 'time' for the nurses (cna's) to make their rounds. We are furious. Do we have any rights here? We are in California.

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Dear Daddy's Girl;

I am a legal nurse consultant and my work involves reviewing medical records for attorneys and possible plaintiffs with a medical malpractice/negligence cause of action.

First, laws vary from state to state regarding nursing home care. If you feel your father is being neglected or receiving improper care, contact the long term facility licensing agency for the state of CA and file a formal complaint. Investigators will make an unannounced visit and conduct an in-depth investigation into your allegations. If the facility is not following regulations, they will be cited and required to make improvements within a specified amount of time. The agency will follow-up with anothe visit to verify the facility is complying with it's recommendations for improvement.

If your father has lost "50 pounds in 2 months", and his physician is not taking appropriate measures to ensure he is receiving adequate care, you should contact the California Board of Medical Examiners and file a formal complaint against him. They too will conduct a full investigation to determine whether or not the doc has been negligent in the care of your father. If so, he may be brought up on charges before the board. This will send a clear message to the doc that his failure to care for your father appropriately is unacceptable and has not gone unnoticed. This may be enough to encourage him to "re-examine" the standard of care in relation to your fathers medical needs.

If I can be of assistance, feel free to e-mail me at <PamSJS@aol.com>

Thank you so much for responding so quickly! We have a meeting tomorrow (10/27/00) with the director of nursing where my father is now. I will contact you if we need more information. Thank you again. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face=" Arial, Verdana, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PamSJS:
Dear Daddy's Girl;

I am a legal nurse consultant and my work involves reviewing medical records for attorneys and possible plaintiffs with a medical malpractice/negligence cause of action.

First, laws vary from state to state regarding nursing home care. If you feel your father is being neglected or receiving improper care, contact the long term facility licensing agency for the state of CA and file a formal complaint. Investigators will make an unannounced visit and conduct an in-depth investigation into your allegations. If the facility is not following regulations, they will be cited and required to make improvements within a specified amount of time. The agency will follow-up with anothe visit to verify the facility is complying with it's recommendations for improvement.

If your father has lost "50 pounds in 2 months", and his physician is not taking appropriate measures to ensure he is receiving adequate care, you should contact the California Board of Medical Examiners and file a formal complaint against him. They too will conduct a full investigation to determine whether or not the doc has been negligent in the care of your father. If so, he may be brought up on charges before the board. This will send a clear message to the doc that his failure to care for your father appropriately is unacceptable and has not gone unnoticed. This may be enough to encourage him to "re-examine" the standard of care in relation to your fathers medical needs.

If I can be of assistance, feel free to e-mail me at &lt;PamSJS@aol.com&gt;<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>