Manorcare Health Services-Palos Heights East

The therapists are great but the rest of the facility needs an overhaul in operations. My sister had a knee replacement 6÷25÷2015. She chose Manor Care Palos because her doctor said it was the best for rehab. The rehab therapists are great. But, this place has terrible business practices. There is no welcome information packet that explains how things work or numbers to call. She was wheeled to her room and left there. After a half hour of still sitting in the wheelchair she was wheeled into the room with, she was in so much pain and needed to be horizontal. Her son and I decided we needed to lift her and get her into bed. After waiting and waiting for a nurse, I retrieved ice from the ice machine and filled the medical device required to keep her her knee/​leg cold because we couldn’t wait any longer.
The staff told me the ice machine was brand new but it took about 20 button presses to get the amount needed to fill the device. Based on a past experience with her husband who had brain cancer and a huge delay in getting his anti-​seizure meds, I was concerned my sister would get her pain medication in a timely manner. After a couple of trips to the front desk, a nurse finally came in an hour-​and-​a-​half later (the first person to acknowledge her) and complained about Obamacare allowing for a nurse-​patient ratio of 1 – 20. She also explained why she argued in front of me with a therapist. I also had to retrieve another blanket from the linen closet I found after roaming hallways because there was no one around to deal with it and my sister was really chilled.
By 6:30 p.m. she still had not received dinner. I had to complain and they finally got her something but no dessert. I went to the kitchen to scrounge something. The bathroom has a precarious plumbing system — so much so, that my sister who has mobility problems decided by day two that she was going to find another restroom to use. She couldn’t use her wheelchair to get there because someone on staff borrowed it and said it would be right back, never to be seen again. (Wheelchairs are part of your daily bill).
Day two also brought no menu for breakfast. They told her, «you’re new here.» No lunch menu and no dinner menu. Her son had to bring her dinner. The staff also didn’t bring her a leg lift to help her get in and out of bed. When her therapist asked why she didn’t have one, she said she was having so much difficulty getting in and out of bed she almost cried the previous night. He then made sure she had one.
Day three also brought a TV that suddenly didn’t work. She was told there was no one to fix it and a work order would be put in for the facilities people to tackle Monday.
I know the healthcare delivery system is strained by the demand but some simple changes to business practices could improve things tremendously. How about making sure the center’s pharmacist-​doctors authorize meds when she calls for pre-​authorization to be admitted or at least the minute they are notified she’s coming? Add a welcome packet with critical information.
I will say this — the business practices for billing are very efficient. When her husband was admitted, she received the bill just three days later. This time, she was admitted on Saturday ⁶⁄₂₇ and had a bill Monday ⁶⁄₂₉.