Holston Healthcare Ctr

The facility is very nice, clean, well taken care of. Excellent front porch for enjoying mild weather. Generally the staff are very good and caring. The physical therapy staff are very good. They assist and care their patients as you would expect them to. The nursing staff and the CNAs are caring and perform their jobs well and satisfactorily. But, the nursing staff and CNAs are understaffed as is so often the case in rehab facilities. When you couple that with the extra needs of the Alzheimer/dementia patient it gets more burdensome on everyone. And that’s where my disappointment begins. My Mom had been at this facility many times before and had very good experiences. The physical therapy given my Mom was always very good and helped her to be able to return home. So I want to expressly say that as long as you have full mental capabilities and can communicate your needs adequately, this facility is probably one of the best in Knoxville. They are poorly equipped to deal with patients who have Alzheimer’s and/or dementia. That was a surprising revelation given the number of patients I saw who were Alzheimer’s/dementia patients. I also have to state that Mom was a patient at Holston recovering from a femur fracture resulting in repair surgery when diagnosed with dementia. Initially we believed the extreme confusion she was having was due to the surgery. Enough time had passed that the anesthetic from surgery was not causing her confusion. So it was a steep and sudden learning curve for me on so many levels. The actual physical therapy she received was good and sufficient but the care she received outside of rehab lacked in time and attention. As I mentioned above, this is due in large part of being understaffed. Alzheimer’s/dementia patients require a different approach. They require more time and patience. They are more “irritating” to staff because they tend to get themselves into situations that the coherent patient wouldn’t. Depending on the depth of the dementia, their communication skills are limited and that in itself can cause problems. However, sufficient staff training needs to be done and practiced to be able to adequately take care of this particular population. I just didn’t see that during Mom’s last stay. We had never been in this situation where she had an injury to rehab and rapidly developing dementia. The staff did not seem to know how to “redirect” a dementia patient, although that’s where I learned the use of that word. This was also the time of Mom’s diagnosis of dementia and there is an understandable period of trying to get her medication dosages in the right level. They seemed to have her stabilized with medications such that she was not as confused. But she still had times when she became agitated and combative. They would medicate her to keep her calm instead of working with her to adequately “redirect” her thoughts and frustrations. Again, this points to staffing levels and adequate training for this disease. I understand the amount of time it takes away from their other duties to have to spend redirecting a dementia patient, but you could see an increasing frustration level from the patient straight up through the staff. I do not believe the facility has any ill-intent. I do not believe the facility is incapable of excellent care. Mom’s past experiences with this facility were excellent in both patient care and physical therapy. I believe the facility is sorely understaffed and undertrained to deal specifically with Alzheimer/dementia patients. I would recommend the facility if you or your loved one has full mental capabilities. Because you or your family member would be capable of managing your own situation and care, fully able to ask for help and assistance, and benefit from their very good physical therapy program. I would not recommend the facility if you or your loved one suffers with Alzheimer’s/dementia.