Samaritan Bethany Home on Eighth Rochester, Minnesota 55901
In 1970, when my son was 15-years old, he sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a car accident. As a middle-aged adult, he was tranferred from St. Mary's to Samaritan-Bethany for training on his newly diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes. After three days, the nurse-in-charge (Barbara), called me at my home to accuse me of neglect. (I am 82-years old mother, and have been widowed for 26-years, during which I finished raising my children alone.) Barbara, as SB representative, suggested that, over the decades, my son had suffered, not from the longstanding failures of the health care system to diagnose TBI, rather, from the neglect of his family, in spite of our relentless search for help for him. The staff at SB, as represented by Barbara, seemed to have no understanding of concepts like "individual autonomy"--that a brain injured patient can act from his/her own will, and the difficulty and frustration that this can present to a patient's family. As a result, I did not feel like my son's care was a collaborative process. Instead, I felt judged for years of history--and I am astonished to have to tell you this--for you are the professionals: Injury and/or Illness IS NOT a one-time event. Every person who comes to you arrives with a history. To provide excellant care takes time & listening & surely a suspension of judgement. Barbara, this evaluation of you and your facility is being posted nearly 6 months after our two phone calls, as it has taken me this long to process my astonishment & hurt & fury at the way I felt evaluated by you. There was nothing in my son's "health care" process that felt like it was done in the best interest of him. Rather, this process felt like it was an opportunity for you to move my son on and out, and blame me for his historic poor outcomes. While your facility sports lovely art on the walls, and pretty clean rooms, 2-stars is far too high. You and your facilty have yet to realize what really matters.