Updated ---Thieves-- I'm so mad I could spit

[Chris83716]

Actually I'm considerably more irritated than that but "this is a high-class place".

Found out that one of the caregivers for my Grandma has been stealing her pain pills. Cops have been called and seem to be on it but it is still upsetting.

I'm not sure what the solution is and do not want to rehash the "war on drugs" debate from a month or so back but it sure might be easier to just let the druggies buy enough junk cheap to do themselves in. More room and oxygen for the rest of us.

Chris

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/04/1 ... -home.html

Problem solved. Hopefully she she gets a long stay in the gray bar. I plan on taking the day off work and going to court for this.

Chris

[Mescalero]

Chris83176,
Exactly!
Let them do enough to rid us of thier presence.

[AJMD429]

We had a little old lady patient where we found out family was swiping her Percocet (ultra-strong pain pills) and replacing them with regular Tylenol. We were furious - a bit at the offense against our trust, but moreso at the thought of her suffering in pain so they could get high....

....but then she came in for an appointment, and appeared her usual pleasant self, in no particular pain. We asked if she'd been doing ok, and she cheerfully replied just fine; we asked if she had very many days of pain in the last month, and she cheerfully replied not really - "Those pain pills do just fine, but if I don't take two a day, I'm so stiff and achy in the morning..."

We realized the family had been stealing her Percocet all along - she'd never been on them at all! While we were relieved she hadn't been suffering, we were all the more annoyed at her grandkids.

(So if you have an older relative who the doctor insists on 'drug testing', that's why - the doctor wants to try to be sure the patient is the one taking the potent pills...)

Hope your Grandma wasn't in undue pain because of this, at least.

You might want to check for other things they might have stolen from her (including social security numbers, bank information, etc.) - people who are dishonest about one thing are likely to be dishonest about other things...

[adirondakjack]

Addiction is a powerful master. Not infrequently nurses steal pain meds from patients in hospitals. IMHO that breach of trust ought to draw year in rehab so they could fully appreciate the next 10 years in the slammer.

[1894c]

sorry about your grandma...way too many drug addicted dirt-bags today... :(

[DixieBoy]

Having lost both of my parents over the past couple years I am particularly intolerant when it comes to people who wrong the elderly.

Is there anything lower ? Maybe, hurting a child. But both those things are right down there among the lowest acts.

When my parents were getting older (Mom passed at 89 years, Dad at 92) I was constantly tuned in to whatever the latest scam was that the bottom feeders were up to, all looking to steal from the elderly.

Without a doubt, there is a special place "down below" for these lowlifes. I just wish I could get my hands on someone doing wrong by any older person. That hot place down there would be a relief for them once I got through with them. - DixieBoy

[243dave]

My Dad has been battling cancer for some time now but last year when he and Mom was out of town at the hospital my cousin stole all his pain meds. My cousin is in prison now on several different charges but if I ever see him again he may be visiting the hospital. It makes it worse when its someone close that would come and spend nights as a kid and young man so he could go hunting with your family. Drug addiction is a heck of a thing but its no excuse for being a $#@!-head.

[Pete44ru]

Actually I'm considerably more irritated than that but "this is a high-class place".

Found out that one of the caregivers for my Grandma has been stealing her pain pills. Cops have been called and seem to be on it but it is still upsetting.

I'm not sure what the solution is and do not want to rehash the "war on drugs" debate from a month or so back but it sure might be easier to just let the druggies buy enough junk cheap to do themselves in. More room and oxygen for the rest of us.

Chris

Thank God she's still alive, Chris - She could have been one of the several deaths in the nursing home down the road from me.

The state's moving to revoke their license, & the feds are "investigating" now - but only after some of the effected/bereaved family members went public on local TV. "scumbag leech's" is too nice a term to describe such people IMHO.

http://www.ri.gov/press/view/16085


.

[Old Time Hunter]

Unfortunately both my elderly parents are in need of almost continous assistance as my Mother is slowly slipping into the abyss of Alhzeimers and my Father having a major ischemic stroke this past October (28th). Therefore my siblings and I had no choice but to "commit" both of my parents to what my Father used to call "death" houses. Fortunately they are currently at the same facility, my Father in "unassisted apartment" using an outside "homecare" company to help facilitate his needs and my Mother in another section with full time Alhzeimers care. First and foremost, we pay an unbelievable amount of money monthly, yet the attention both receive for Roll Royce cost is Yugo service at best. The people that actually do the work, are paid almost embarrassingly low compensation. For example, his care handlers make no more than $10 per hour, yet we pay the service $30 an hour. So, as you can see, there is a motivation for the care handlers to look for opportunities to enhance their income.

As in AJMD's post, my Father was prescribed a opiate pain killer and it turns out that once he was out of the rehab ward, the care handlers obsconded with his opiates and replaced them with Tylenol. To be honest though, until my Father found that out, the Tylenol was actually working in his mind better than the opiates. Still in the two months since my Father has been back on his own, the care givers have stolen thousands of street dollars worth of drugs from my Father. Makes one wonder how much is stolen from the other 100+ people that live there.

One last thing. This getting old stuff is for the birds. Our society preys on the elderly to take away any choices they might make for themselves regarding their quality of life and to squeeze every last penny out of them or their family. My Father protected a good portion of his assets by using the "old" trust system before they changed the laws, but these facilities are relentless in trying to get him to change the name of the trustee to the facility. They claim they will only take what they "need" and give the rest back...what BS. My siblings and I opened an account for both my parents care a year ago, under the facilities guidlines for two "full" time care cost proposals. According to them the cost should have been around $90k annually, the sucked it up within seven months and came looking for more! That is why we now have an outside "home care" service for my Dad, that even at $30 per hour is substantially less than the what the home charges internally when including their "hidden" charges. They also send me a letter once a month asking me what the "trust" balance is, of course I decline to tell them, 'cause it is none of their business.

[stretch]

Dirtbags who prey on the very old, young, or otherwise defenseless are
the lowest of the low. There is nothing in law that dispenses appropriate
justice for thesemagots.

I have a cousin who absconded with the money for flowers for his own
mother's funeral. Nobody in the family has spoken to him for
years. If he was an Eskimo, he'd have been banished to an ice floe.

-Tom

[Rusty]

It used to be problems like that would be taken care of with a tall tree and a short rope.

[FWiedner]

It used to be problems like that would be taken care of with a tall tree and a short rope.

It used to be that the family could afford to keep the elders home until they went to glory.

[Chris83716]

It used to be problems like that would be taken care of with a tall tree and a short rope.

If only it was that easy.

Chris

[Blaine]

I wonder about the addiction claim....I've been on a pain contract with VA for about 6 years....Up until about a year ago, I took the recommended dosage of two a day. Lately, I just take one or so when I'm in real pain, and not just the everyday variety. I thought I'd get the shakes for awhile, but there was not one bit of withdrawal involved. That seems contrary to what all the experts say. If I take two at once, it's a pretty good buzz, and I'm glad I'm not the sort to do that for kicks. Tylenol, and aspirin do the trick most of the time. I'm also weaning myself off the anxiety pill they've had me on for several years....I'm starting to get tired of all the pill pushing the Docs do.

[RustyJr]

BlaineG,
I think a lot of it is psychological dependence or they just want the feeling of the "high". I have no doubt that many of the narcotics that are out there ARE addicting physically but lets face it . . . the people that are taking these drugs illegally do not care if they are "hooked" on the drugs or who else their "habit" effects.

RustyJr

[kimwcook]

One of the many reasons I do what I do. Can't abide a thief.

[jeepnik]

Get a rope.

[Chris83716]

bump to get this topic back in circulation

Chris

[piller]

Some interesting info for you. When you are in pain, narcotics do not get you nearly as high as when you are not in pain. There are 5 different types of nerve receptors that we know of for the effects of narcotics. Some folks are lucky as they have higher levels of liver enzymes which destroy the narcotics, and others have low levels. Not everyone gets addicted, and we cannot tell who will and who won't. Codeine is partially activated into Morphine in your liver. Dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant, can be taken in large enough doses to mimic the effects of a synthetic type of Morphine and get you really high, but it is toxic and will soon rot you from the inside out if you use it in this dose. Most Hydrocodone products have Acetaminophen, also known as Tylenol, mixed in with them and high dose will cause liver damage. Naloxone, Narcan trademark, when injected, will bring you down off of a Morphine type high very quickly and save your life, but will send addicts into immediate withdrawal. That is just a little bit, and the rest might scare you.

[Old Time Hunter]

The MD's sure push pills for the elderly though...just completed my parents tax returns. My Father spent over $24k on pills alone and another $60k on supplemental medical assistance and treatment. All of this not covered by Medcare or his supplemental insurance (we believe he has gone above the $1M limit). My Mother is now in a 24/7 Alzheimers facility @ $7k a month...100% financed by us. We figure that the total cost this year at around $200k to take care of our parents (they are in two seperate assisted living apartments). On top of this, the care givers steal them blind! This is one reason that I do not see me retiring anytime soon, heck, my sister just came back out of retirement specifically to help pay some of the bills as the first couple of years my parents required assistance, I paid out of pocket for it by myself.