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My mother has been in the same facility for several years. Since Covid I have noticed she is very unkempt looking. They used to keep her hair shaved off her face and her nails cut. But that doesn’t seem the case anymore. She wears clothes that are not her clothes and are either to large or too small. Do I talk to the nurse administrator about these things?

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Cut them some slack. It's tough to keep up with it all, especially if they're short-staffed.

I did my mother's nails for her when I visited, and brought mixed up clothes to the administrator's attention. I checked her clothes to make sure the labels were in them, replaced missing ones, and acted as a member of my mother's care team, not just the person who pays the bills.
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Yes, talk to the nurse administrator or whoever is the line manager for the staff delivering your mother's day-to-day care. It sounds as if it's time for a good look at your mother's care plan with a view to rebooting it.

How long do you normally spend there during visits? If possible, see if you can spend a whole morning up to and including lunch with her, using this as an opportunity to make connections among her care team and get her possessions organized.

Bear in mind that if it's been several years, there may also have been a falling-off in your mother's motivation and a change of priorities for her. Grooming and dressing are very much part of supporting a person's individuality and are very important but make allowances for anything that *she* can't be bothered with any more.

Regarding the hair removal specifically: if she's on blood-thinners, the aides may be extremely reluctant to shave her (or prohibited, even). If whiskers are bothering her (mine bother me!) consider alternative methods such as tweezers or facial depilatory creams. Waxing would probably be too fierce for fragile skin.
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Where I live, staff in NHs are not allowed to cut fingernails. This is because of maybe clipping the skin and causing infections. Toes are done by a foot doctor who comes into the NH periodically. Medicare pays for this every 10 weeks.

Shaving may not be done everyday but if resident can't do it, then an aide should. I would say there is a shortage of aides. Nails and shaving may not be a priority.
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Alva makes an important point about toenails - the difference really is between cosmetic and strictly health-related procedures, and we certainly don't go anywhere *near* anything to do with podiatry/chiropody (hands up, I've never concentrated when anyone's told me what the difference is between those two). Similarly, we can clean under fingernails, we'd happily apply nail polish if only there were time; but we wouldn't be clipping or cutting them and if the nails are fragile or flaking or splitting then we'd even be reluctant to file.

It may seem silly but it's just too easy to do someone a real damage with the very best of intentions.
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Isthisrealyreal Apr 2022
Those terms are the same professional just regional verbiage.
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Following.

I’ve experienced the exact same issues with my loved one, too. I was told that each person’s laundry was done separately, so how do they end up with other people’s clothes? I bought customized name labels and put them on everything, including shoes. There have been grooming issues, too.
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BurntCaregiver Apr 2022
The laundry is not done separately. They do it by floors. They also send the laundry out to be cleaned and those workers don't pay much attention to labels in the clothes with someone's name on them.
When my father was in the NH, I picked up his laundry once a week and did it myself. This is the only way to keep someone in their own clothes and this doesn't always work. Sometimes different people's clothes being worn are not the fault of the staff. In nursing homes or any facility where there are people with dementia, clothes and all kinds of different items go missing from residents' rooms, closets, and bathrooms. They get nicked by other residents.
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Yes, your question is really for the facility involved. They differ. Bring these concerns to the administration, and ask.
One thing that you can know is that most facilities without medical personnel hestitate to trim toenails. This is predominantly a problem with seniors and poor circulation, difficulty healing small nicks and scratches and the danger of sepsis.
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There's money to be made usually NHs have foot doctors come around to do the nails of the residents and charge the service to insurance, usually Medicare
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It couldn't hurt to talk to the nurse or administrator about it. If your mother was well kept before with her nails trimmed, hair cut, and hair removal always done and you didn't pay extra for it, then it was included in her bill.
Chances are the facility she's in has changed hands and been bought up by a different company. Usually when this happens residents have to start paying extra for every service and the new company reduces essential staff numbers to maximize profits.
Ask if the facility is owned by a different company now.
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Hair and nails are done for a fee at my LO’S residence, but honestly all bets are off since COVID, and fact is, if she’s wearing something clean that covers her comfortably I could care less whether the clothing is too large or too small.

If your mother doesn’t express concern, it maybe better to let this go.
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Everywhere there is a shortage of workers, especially in healthcare. Yes, your mother should be clean and clothed in her clothes. Hair, nails, facial issues should be addressed but many workers simply do not have enough time to keep up with all of it. I would suggest asking a aesthetician to come in to wax facial hair and do her nails twice a month. Also get a hair stylist in every 6-8 weeks to touch up her hair. This can be a way of giving her gifts she needs and appreciates.
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