Castleton Health Care Center

Having nursing experience and mainly LTC the past 20 yrs, I decided to accept a position at this facility. Nursing is my passion and I am wholeheartedly a patient advocate from the start. The facility is near my home and I had noticed the hiring sign for the past couple years passing by. Immediat...

Having nursing experience and mainly LTC the past 20 yrs, I decided to accept a position at this facility. Nursing is my passion and I am wholeheartedly a patient advocate from the start. The facility is near my home and I had noticed the hiring sign for the past couple years passing by. Immediately, I realized the lack of professionalism from the current management team. Lack of respect to floor staff and residents from the same group. Floor nursing staff show compassion but are either overworked or concerns seem unimportant to those who should be managing these issues. Protocols are unlike many facilities and are not taught to new staff. Supplies are low. Resident complaints/floor staff interventions aren’t dealt with effectively. After one day of assessing my patients, I was commended by a therapist, hospice staff, family of residents, residents themselves, and co-workers. My integrity and genuineness has been criticized by management alone. They deceitfully confronted me by asking me to enter facility for mandatory Covid test weekly, then the DON, ADON, and Admin threatened my job there. I still don’t know why aside from the protocols regarding admissions etc that differ and weren’t taught. Being my first week there you would think that during an overwhelming shift that they would jump in to assist without my asking. From what I have witnessed, I would not want any loved ones to be there until the management team have all been replaced.

My Father-in-law had fallen due to a UTI and broken three ribs. It was suggested that we find a rehabilitation center to help him regain his strength and help to nurse him back to health. We unfortunately chose Castleton Health Care Center. When admitted, he was quarantined for the first 14 days ...

My Father-in-law had fallen due to a UTI and broken three ribs. It was suggested that we find a rehabilitation center to help him regain his strength and help to nurse him back to health. We unfortunately chose Castleton Health Care Center. When admitted, he was quarantined for the first 14 days due to the Covid pandemic, even though he was fully vaccinated...but we understood this was an extra precaution to protect all the other patients and staff. Keep in mind, prior to being admitted to this facility my father-in-law was in decent shape for an 85yr old...he still drove, lived on his own and was all there mentally. During this 14 day quarantine we were only allowed to visit him through his room window, using cellphones to communicate. They decided to stop feeding him solid food and opted for an IV of saline solution. They claimed this was because he was chocking on his food. I asked how he could regain his strength if he wasn''t getting nutrition...I was told that a nutritionist would address that issue "tomorrow." Tomorrow seemed to be the go-to phrase used by the staff. By the time he was released from quarantine and we were allowed an in-person visit, his health had declined to the point that he could only communicate by whispering, and struggled with that. He was extremely weak, I assume because he was suffering from malnutrition. Two days later, my wife went to visit her father and by this time his condition worsened to the point of him being almost comatose. She was told he had developed pneumonia and was being treated for it too. Her request that they call an ambulance was met with some resistance, but the staff eventually complied. When they arrived in the ER, his oxygen level was at 62% and they immediately put him on a ventilator and life support. The ER doctors told her that there was no evidence of pneumonia on his x-rays and that had he not came to the hospital when he did, he wouldn''t have survived through the night. We saw that he had the largest bed-sore I have ever seen, encompassing both butt checks and both of his heals. The hospital filed a report with the State suggesting blatant neglect and malnutrition. My father-in-law never recovered from this incredibly awful care that he received at this pathetic excuse of a health care facility. Two weeks later he passed away in the ICU department at Community North Hospital. The nurses in the ICU told us that they see this neglect on a daily basis from many facilities in our community...I just hope no one has to experience this kind of disrespect to their loved ones ever again! I can not and will not recommend this facility!!