ProMedica Ruxton

My mother spent the last five weeks of her life in this facility, which is locally referred to as Manor Care Ruxton. It is a nice looking building in a very upscale location, and the public areas are extremely nice. The rooms are in need of updating but are perfectly adequate, if a little small (the double rooms anyway). She was there for post-surgical rehab, not for long-term care, and in fact my brother and I had planned to move her and my dad both to the Maryland Masonic Home for long-term care and assisted living, but she died unexpectedly two days before we had planned to move her. The nursing and physical therapy/occupational therapy/speech therapy staff are very nice, caring, and warm. The social worker who was helping us arrange Mom's planned transfer was also delightful and very kind. But a few things happened during and after Mom's stay that really forced us to acknowledge that Manor Care is, after all, a for-profit enterprise, and the management is highly focused on profit. One of Mom's favorite treats was a small can of ginger ale, which she would sip from a straw out of a cup filled with crushed ice. She loved it, and she needed the hydration. I could always walk down to the nurses' station and get some just by asking for it. But shortly before she died, Manor Care switched food service providers to save money, and the new food service company took the position that soft drinks were not nutritional, and therefore did not provide access to them. I was willing to buy her a ginger ale out of the machine in the lounge, but the machine was sold out more often than not. The nurses figured out a back-door way to slip her some ginger ale most every day, and she continued to enjoy it, but for me the whole experience was an unwelcome reminder of the for-profit orientation of the facility. The worst part, though, was the billing problems. Mom had been in and out of hospitals (and a different Manor Care) since the beginning of September 2012, so she used up her Medicare rehab days. The business office called my brother repeatedly to make sure we understood that we needed to pay. I personally went into the business office, asked for an itemized bill, and wrote a five-figure check that was intended to cover all of Mom's charges for the months of December 2012 (about ten days) and January 2013. She died before the end of January. But Manor Care has begun dunning my brother and me for additional charges for January 2013, including more than a thousand dollars for "bed rental." EXCUSE ME?! BED RENTAL? Since my mother occupied the same bed from the day she arrived until the day she died in it, this seems like a predictable charge. I don't understand why we would be billed for it now, nor do I understand why it would not simply be included in the exorbitant daily rates for, you know, room rental. Manor Care Ruxton is an all-right place from the point of view of a patient. The nursing / therapeutic staff are caring and pleasant, the food is tolerable if not great, the lounges and other public areas are very nice, and the location is terrific. It's a safe place for your loved one. But you can do better.