On December 27, 2021 my Mom Inez Delfico and Stepdad Otto Moring were admitted into Virtua Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Camden with Covid. They had put my Stepdad on a ventilator right away and my Mom on oxygen.  On 1/4/22 my stepdad passed away. They had put him on Remdesivir. 

My mother was quarantined alone in a room (4 walls) with minimal human contact for nearly 30 days. Quarantined. People wearing goggles,2-3 masks, a face shield, plastic gowns, gloves……to a 74yr woman who’s hearing impaired that becomes terrifying. No familiar voices, no familiar faces, no conversations.

There were a number of examples of neglect, but I want to fast forward to her 21st day in the hospital.  I spoke with my Mother’s doctor Dr Curreri.  I told him I had been approved for a 15min visit. 

I asked the doctor to take her off Covid Quarantine Status. He said let me see when she was admitted. 

It was surprising to him that she had not been tested again for Covid  since her admittance. He put in an order to be taken off Covid Quarantine Status. 

On January 21,2022 the day of my 2nd 15min visit Dr Curreri called me in the morning to say the hospital never took my Mom off the Covid Quarantine Status. In fact, he said, the Hospital Administration overrode his order. So my Mom was in Covid Quarantine Status an extra 5 days.

Dr Curreri said my mother was refusing medication, PT and food.  She said what’s the point I’m not making it out of here alive.

Dr Curreri knew this was a very critical moment. He called a psychiatrist and the doctor in charge of the visitation decision-making and insisted that he take her off Covid Quarantine Status and said she needs to see her daughter!!

She was taken off Covid Quarantine Status and Dr Curreri got me 15min visitations every day. 

When I got to the hospital the Patient Advocate and Assistant Nurse Manager came to my Mom’s room to have a conversation because someone interfered again and stopped the 15min visits every day. The PA and the assistant Nurse manager had increased my 15 min visit into 3hrs. for that day only.

A few days prior to my visit I was on FaceTime with my mother. She was in extreme pain. Her nurse told me she had a bruise. When I came in for my visit I saw 2 bedsores in the Lombard area of her spine and a deep tissue wound just above her anus and along her right butt cheek. They kept that information from me. 

THE PRIEST:

It’s about 3 wks since my stepdad passed and we protected my mom from knowing it. She knew he had been put on a ventilator and was having a tough time. How could I tell her he was gone when she’s very sick and thinks she’s going to die, I couldn’t be there to grieve with her. So, I told nurses and all staff involved in my mothers care that they were NOT to say a word about my stepdad’s passing. 

I got a call from the Patient Advocate, I believe on January 18th asking for Mom’s medical POA papers.  The PA told me the nurses mentioned in emails that they felt it was not ethical for them to keep from my mother that my stepdad had passed. 

The Patient Advocate said if I didn’t have a medical POA for my mother the hospital “could take control” over her care. Was that a threat or a hint at the direction this Hospital administration wants to take my mom’s treatment? This conversation went back and forth and I stood my ground telling her we’ve got a medical POA.  

A few days after that I got a call from the Nurse Manager and the hospital Priest.  The Priest was leading the conversation explaining he was on the board of ethics. He had options to offer me so Mom could be told that my stepdad passed away. He could tell her or I could be on FaceTime with him in the room with Mom…….blah blah blah. They were insisting I tell my mother. In a raised voice I told the priest this was none of their business. It was a family matter. Mom is fighting for her life and their main concern was telling my mother my stepdad is DEAD!!  

My Mom’s mindset wasn’t good. I told them it was no longer an issue because she was coming home the next day and no one had better say a word to her about it. 

One more example of what I was up against.  

The day before my stepdad passed away a nurse told me my parents should’ve been vaccinated. Asking me if I lived with them, did I get vaccinated, did I get Covid.  I’m sure you can imagine my response.  

Around an hour later I spoke with a doctor and shared the conversation I had with the nurse, I asked “Was this what the hospital is training staff to say to the family?”  Doctor said, “no, they do want the nurse to help with education.” 

 I said it was lecturing and the nurse did not have the right mindset to take care of my stepdad. The nurse basically implied he felt my parents deserved what they were going through. 

The next night a female doctor called me because my stepdad had coded and a team was resuscitating him. She made me listen to what was going on while she was counting the mins until his heart started back. It was 2mins, 2mins…..after 7 minutes his heart started beating. The doctor said  “We’ll get him comfortable” and she hung up. My stepdad coded a second time and again the doctor called during the code counting the minutes this time it took them 4minutes to get his heart started. Why the hell are they calling me during a code?!  The doctor called back to suggest this looks like a pattern and suggested that I make a decision to either continue to resuscitate or let him go. We were disconnected.

 I called my stepsister. During the call the doctor called me back. I conferenced her in the call with my stepsister.  The doctor repeated what she said earlier we made the decision to let him go.

On Jan. 27 2022 my Mom came home. The hospital wanted my Mom to go to a rehab facility.  She couldn’t walk, had bed sores, a deep tissue wound, speech & cognitive issues, etc. She didn’t go into the hospital with these issues.  This was brutal and cruel. She was traumatized and so was I. The family and I decided we would care for her at home.

Medications:

1.) On December 27, 2021 Mom was put on an oxygen cannula in her nose. 

2.) Baricitinib was started on Wednesday. Should it have started on day1? Mom started on oxygen Monday the 27th. I believe they failed to start medication on time.

3.) Musinex expired (for how long?) and what other meds expired.

4.) 2nd drug Atameran to use after Baricitinib. Two Infectious Disease doctors wanted to use it. I wanted to talk with mom’s other doctor to confirm it was a good move.  All of a sudden the Infectious Disease doctor tells me he spoke to other doctors high up in the hospital and said it’s a long shot to work. I found out minimum stock, only certain people get approved. Like who? She was denied.

5.) She was put on a steroid for Covid. It caused her type 2 diabetes to become type 1 diabetes and the hospital gave her insulin by needle, which she had never taken before. (see pictures)

6.) Notice:  Monoclonal Antibodies had been stopped the week before we became ill. Monoclonal Antibodies could’ve saved us from this and prevented my stepdad’s death.

Food: 

The hospital staff would leave her meals knowing she could not eat on her own because she was weak. She couldn’t open the packages of some of the products. The nursing staff did not open the packages nor did they volunteer to feed her or hydrate her. 

The nurse kept saying my mom had no appetite. If they had paid attention or had conversation with her, they would’ve found out it was because her throat was dry from the oxygen and food was sticking to her throat. She was afraid of choking since no one was coming to the room often. She was also afraid to poop because of pain from bedsores and deep tissue wound. They never feed my mother the food I dropped off for her.  

I brought her boxes of cereal, milk, jello, pudding, fruit and sandwiches because she told me she was starving and their food tasted like poo.  She’s lost 40lbs in 30 days.

I wasn’t permitted to take the food I brought for her into her room to feed her. The staff put the food into an open closet in her room. She never got any of it because she was to weak to get out of bed to get it. See picture.

WATER:

Nurses were not getting her water or making it accessible. There were NO restrictions. So why?? She was begging for water and ice every time I called. 

Water out of reach (see picture). Although there were a pitcher and a cup for water they were empty. AND, they were on the side table out of reach. See picture.

PHONE

1.) Mom’s hospital phone in the room didn’t work. They moved her around so often that I found the phone in the closet the day before I took her home. (see picture) 

2.) Days would go by, I couldn’t get my mother on the phone.

3.) I couldn’t talk to my mother for days.  Nurse wouldn’t put her on phone. 

4.) The nursing station didn’t answer the phone a lot when I called. 

5.) Nurses not calling back when I left messages. 

6.) When I called through the general number and they picked up, they had me on hold for 10mins. 

Oxygen:

The doctor decided it was time to wean Mom off the oxygen. It seemed some nurses would cooperate with the doctors order to lower oxygen. It seemed as though others did not follow instructions.

My Mom was removing the nasal cannula. The Nurse would walk in the room and see it was off.  As a result Mom became desaturated. Her oxygen level would go way down. 

As a result a number of people would rush into my Mom’s room and do a rapid response. I don’t know if they asked my Mom why she took off the cannula? Or if they asked her if she needed a little lube.

I didn’t know the answer to any of these questions because I wasn’t there.

However, I recently found out from my mother that she had a blockage in her nose which she removed with her little finger. It was a thick dried bloody bugger. When she removed it she had a nose bleed and the blood went all over her hospital gown. I have no idea what the hell was going on.

Why did respiratory team only come when called? There were no daily treatments or spirometer. Spirometer was never given I had to demand a spirometer for my mother. Everyday I asked. No one ever got one for her. I spoke with Dr. Curreri who had to demand that the nurses provide one.  Low and behold, one showed up.

Bedsores:

I was on FaceTime with my Mom and the nurse was in the room.  I could see the agony on my mothers face. I asked where was the pain. It was her butt. 

The nurse comes into picture on FaceTime and looks at it and told me there was a bruise. How the hell did she get that bruise? 

The nurse said wound care had been called and we’ll know more once wound care comes to check.

 On January 21st I went for my visit and saw there were 2 bedsores and 1 deep tissue wound! They NEVER told me about any of them. I asked for wound care to call me.  I was told they don’t take calls from family. 

Again, I started asking questions. I wanted to know when it happened, etc The unit assistant manager was evasive.  

My Mom is a diabetic. As a diabetic a special bed should’ve been ordered from the beginning.  It wasn’t until I learned about the bedsores and deep tissue wound that they ordered the bed. 

The Hospital Staff attempted to send mom home without wound care supplies and didn’t tell me what to do or that I had to do it. The discharge nurse lead me to believe Home-care would be out to the house and give me supplies. I followed up with Home-care. Home-care said they hadn’t received orders.

Please note: after mother came home, Virtua home healthcare came for a consultation to put a plan in place for Mom’s specific needs. It was suggested by the Home healthcare consultant that the hospital LIED.  The consultant said she was told there was only one bedsore and they didn’t know about the deep tissue wound.  See pictures.

When mom and I would talk on FaceTime I asked her to take a left to right panoramic view of herself and her bed.  I saw no nurse emergency call button and no water.  On my visit I found the nurses button hanging on the wall out of my mom’s reach.  

I was told by an aide “not to worry about the nurses emergency button we have to come into the room every two hours.” They let my mother sit in pee and poop over and over again. The wounds of neglect are the evidence.

PT hardly came to her room. I called 2-3 times a day and asked. On Wednesday June 15th I requested ALL medical records. I’ll check the records when I get them. 

Neither aides or nurses EVER brushed her teeth!!  I brought her electric tooth brush and toothpaste. It was unused. Mom confirmed her teeth were never brushed.

I brought my personal tablet with set shows on it mom loved. The staff never gave it to her.

I was told the hospitals tablet on the nurses unit on my mothers floor was not working to do FaceTime and the staff was not trained on how to use it.

Mom was expressing they would not put her in the chair and then the chair went missing.

During my visit the Patient Advocate told me things will be better now that she’s out of Covid Quarantine Status. Staff can come in freely because they don’t have to gown up. My Mom was right. She was left in the room alone for hours.

Peeing- the nurses/aides would not let her pee in the commode. It was easier for them to put her on bed pan even with her bedsores. Then they started using an external catheter to absorb the urine.

At one point the put her in restraints!  I questioned the nurse why didn’t they use a low dose anxiety medication. The next time Mom was anxious they gave her the anxiety medication, but they gave her too high of a dose. 

Later down the road they put her in a room with another Covid patient. That patient was coughing bad.

Social worker not calling me back.

The staff kept shutting moms curtains and lights so mom was sitting in the dark. I said to the staff how about you ask her to meet you half way. Leave the curtains open and lights off. Instead they keep closing the curtains and shutting the lights leaving my mom is darkness. No TV, no phone and no family.

Foreign nurses were working at the hospital. There were language/accent barriers with masks on.  Who are they and from what country?

I want to prevent this from happening again and to others.