One day, while visiting in a bad rehab and care center, I saw a woman in a wheelchair. She was complaining to someone (Staff) that she was missing clothing. As usual, staff said that she had to wait (because they were busy), and then they would have to go downstairs to see where her clothing was.

The man waited, in fact, the woman stated that her clothing had been missing for more than one week, so figure that must be enough waiting, correct? Anyway, time passed and passed and the woman again came back to staff and complained about her clothing but bottom line is that no one went downstairs to find her clothing. And my guess was that even if someone went downstairs, they probably would not find the clothing anyway. After all, isn't this the place where all the residents are wearing everyone else's clothing? How can you find clothing in a basement, when the clothing is on someone else's body on the fifth floor?

The point that I am trying to make is this--that clothing is a very important issue when it comes to living in or to temporarily staying in a nursing home and a rehabilitation and care center. Practically none of these residents want to live here or stay here. Out of everyone that I saw there, from the ones that were able to express their opinion, NONE of them liked it there, none of them enjoyed their stay and none of them wanted to stay there, yet they are forced to be there because no one is helping them get out of there. And even those who have family members who are there to get them out of there, are met with red tape, long waiting periods, and total non-attention. Everything works against those who want to leave the place. Why? The reason is that most times the only way a resident gets to leave there is if they are fortunate enough to be brought to a hospital emergency room.

Under ordinary circumstances, residents of any other place in the world, would not want to be sent to the emergency room. However there is a rehab and care center in Staten Island, that is so bad, so uncomfortable and so horrible that residents would probably jump for joy if they had to go to the emergency room. Why? Because in this case, in this horrible case, the emergency room is their only ticket out of the place --while they are still alive. Emergency rooms--for these prisoner residents of this rehab and care center --are seen as a blessing, as a God-send, to those individuals who were previously destined to stay there in that place forever.

Can you even imagine hoping that you had to go to the emergency room? Probably not. Most normal individuals would not want to be in a position of going to the emergency room. However, in a certain rehab and care center in Staten Island, NY, many residents hope and wait for that day that they get their dishcharge from this place--even, yes even if it is to go to the emergency room. Practically any place other than this place is considered a blessing from God.

Please, politicians if you are reading this, please have mercy on those inside of those nursing homes that are abusing their powers and that are neglecting their residents and patients. Please, politicians, please hear this plea, that we need your help to change things for the better inside of these locked nursing homes and rehab and care centers.

One day, while visiting in a bad rehab and care center, I saw a woman in a wheelchair. She was complaining to someone (Staff) that she was missing clothing. As usual, staff said that she had to wait (because they were busy), and then they would have to go downstairs to see where her clothing was.

The woman waited, in fact, the woman stated that her clothing had been missing for more than one week, so figure that must be enough waiting, correct? Anyway, time passed and passed and the woman again came back to staff and complained about her clothing but bottom line is that no one went downstairs to get her clothing.

I have a theory here that is probably an explanation of why everyone must wait for clothing and why so much clothing is lost in BAD rehab and care centers. It is a vicious cycle. The staff loses the clothing or it is not returned from the laundry area. Since the clothing is lost, the residents are not dressed properly to go to therapy. Once they are not dressed for therapy, the staff refuses to let them attend therapy-even though it is staff's fault that no clothing is there.

Once they say they can 't go to therapy , the staff marks this down and they mark down that the patient is uncooperative. They mark down that the patient refuses therapy. BUT

HOWEVER, they neglect to mention that staff has taken all clothing out of their room and they cannot attend therapy due to lack of clothing.

It is a cycle that harms patients and staff, because as the staff is permitted to do this, they gain bad reputations. Do you live or temporarily reside in a rehabilitation and care center or nursing home that keeps losing your clothes? DO they leave the clothing out of your room so that you cannot get dressed if you wanted to? You need to write to us and we will do our best to find out whom to complain to and how to get your clothing back.

I saw more than four or five people who were missing clothing, and in fact, one resident was wearing my relative's clothing. If you look around, you will see the residents wearing each others' clothing.

The day that I arrived to find a relative in diapers and no clothing, the staff scrambled to find clothing for the relative and the only clothing they found belonged to someone else.

Missing clothing (lots of it, and many patients missing clothing) is a LARGE RED FLAG! What I have noticed is that in the worst nursing homes and rehabilitation and care centers, they can not keep track of clothing (or people). If your place is losing all your clothing it is for one or two reasons and here they are:

1. IF the staff has an agenda to keep residents and patients in their rooms, instead of allowing them out of their rooms for therapy and other events, the staff will "lose" the residents' clothing. For example, in one place, the staff member wanted the patient to remain in diapers instead of using the bathroom, so the staff LOST all the person's pants (conveniently-not the tops but just the pants). What this does is it makes the patient worried about wetting a pair of pants --since their pants are LOST, and it makes them compliant when the staff politely demands that they wear diapers. In some places, some staff members want the patients in diapers even when some do not medically need diapers. The way they get the patients to comply with their diaper demand is by losing the patient's pants. If you see that your relatives' pants are always missing, you need to put it in writing to the attention of an Administrator or your lawyer--either one might work.

2. If clothing is missing (because staff claims that other residents are stealing it), then this is a LARGE RED FLAG, because what is says is , hey, the staff does not know where their residents are all the time. How can residents be missing in other residents' rooms to steal other people's clothing? If staff claims that other residents are stealing the clothing, you should bring it to their attention that if the staff is permitting other residents to STEAL, then what happens when those thieves become violent? In other words, if a resident is left Unattended long enough to steal, then can't that resident become violent while they are missing long enough to steal? So if residents are stealing from other residents, then this nursing home or rehabilitation and care center is NOT a good place for your relatives to live or temporarily reside.

Think those two things over and you will realize those are plain simple facts.