Eight days. That is how long Nora King says her mother, a woman living with dementia, stayed at a Plattsburgh nursing home before she had to be rushed to the hospital. On October 4, she died. Now her daughter stands outside the building asking the question so many families end up asking too late: what happened in there?
As first reported by MyChamplainValley.com (ABC22/FOX44), families and a local lawmaker are raising serious concerns about care at Clinton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Plattsburgh, New York.
King told the station that her mother did not get proper medication, meals, or basic personal care during her time at the facility. She was eventually hospitalized with serious complications and died on October 4, according to the report. King believes the care her mother received played a part. Those are her allegations. They have not been independently verified, and the station said it reached out to the facility for comment.
She is not the only one talking.
Assemblyman Michael Cashman held a press conference outside the nursing home on Friday, October 23. He said he has personally spoken with roughly 20 residents and family members, and the concerns they raised were strikingly consistent: problems with medication, with meals, with hygiene. Residents left in bed for long stretches. Questions about access to their own money.
Cashman also described what he saw himself during a residents council visit in July, including bed sheets stained with urine. He told reporters he had contacted the facility’s leadership directly and still had not heard back, and he urged anyone with concerns to come forward.
Every item on that list matters. But at Bedsore.Law, the phrase that jumps out is “left in bed for extended periods.” A resident who cannot move on their own depends completely on staff to turn them, keep them clean and dry, and get them up. When that does not happen, the skin over the tailbone, hips, and heels starts to break down. Add soiled sheets that are not changed and meals that do not arrive, and you have the exact recipe for a pressure injury. Often it is one that families never see until it is already deep.
Short stays carry their own risk. A new resident, especially one with dementia, cannot always tell staff what hurts or ask for help. The first days are when a facility should be watching most closely, learning that person’s needs, and building a care plan. When a family says things went wrong in the first week, that is a question about whether anyone was really paying attention.
None of this has been proven about this facility. The pattern is still worth taking seriously.
If your loved one lives in a nursing home, show up at different times of day and notice what you find. Is the bed dry? Has your parent been moved since your last visit? Is the meal tray untouched? Ask to see the turning schedule and ask who is responsible for repositioning tonight. Keep notes and photos, with dates. If your loved one has dementia, be their voice: tell the nurse what is normal for them so changes get noticed.
And if something feels wrong, put it in writing to the administrator and the director of nursing, and keep a copy.
If your loved one developed a bedsore, lost weight, or declined quickly in a nursing home that did not seem to be giving basic care, Bedsore.Law can help you understand what happened. Call 844-407-6737 or visit bedsore.law/contact for a free, confidential consultation.
MyChamplainValley.com (ABC22/FOX44)
