My dad died at Glacier Care on June 24, 2015. My first impression of the facility was that it appeared to be clean; however, either they didn't believe in, or had never heard of, HIPPA, as a directory of all of the residents names & room numbers was posted near the front of the facility. I had a conversation with the ADON in which I expressed my opinion that my dad might benefit from receiving IV Fluids; they did ultimately start an IV and hang a few bags of normal saline solution, but the ADON didn't seem to crazy about the idea. She asked me why I felt this might benefit him, and I listed some of the observations I had made about his condition, including his respirations, which at times I had counted to be over 30. She pulled up his chart on the computer & said something to the effect of, "it says that they were 16 the last time vital signs were obtained." (Gee, lady, I know how to watch my dad's chest rise and fall and count the number of times for 60 seconds, which is something I sincerely doubt any of her CNAs did the whole time he was there.) However, as I typed earlier, he did wind up getting an IV, although they did have to use a Dial-A-Flow to give the infusion with (I would have thought that since they were at the time, theoretically, a SNF, they might have had an infusion pump or two lying around somewhere).

Not that I feel that Glacier Care was responsible for my dad's passing; he was 90 years old, after-all. But when your patient is an emaciated 90 year old man whose weight is down to about 110 and is refusing about 90% of the foods and fluids offered to him, it seems curious to me that you would want him to receive physical-therapy & occupational-therapy but find starting an IV and infusing IV fluids to be objectionable.

At Glacier Care, they must have a slightly different understanding of Maslow's Pyramid than I do.