“How could you not know that my mother’s jacket is missing?  She’s worn it nearly every day in the spring and fall for five years.  What has she been wearing outside instead?”  Jill’s frustration was clear to the caregivers at the skilled nursing facility (SNF) where her mother lived.

This excellent facility received the highest possible ratings from Medicare and other certifying agencies, and when Jill visited unannounced, she was always heartened to see the obvious care and concern directed towards her mother and other residents.

Still, over time, she had replaced a huge amount of missing clothing:

• 43 pairs of knit slacks (her mother owned eight pairs, so Jill had replaced them five times over)
• 35 shirts
• 24 camisoles
• 13 sweaters
• 1 winter coat

That didn’t count the socks, scarves, hats, and gloves.  Now she’d have to replace a jacket.  And the previous year, her mother’s expensive wedding ring had disappeared right off her finger.

Why do belongings vanish?

First, the residents themselves may lose track of them.  A sweater can easily be left on a chair in the dining room.

Second, it is easy for clean laundry to be sorted incorrectly and returned to the wrong resident’s room. 

Third, residents with dementia may wander into other residents’ rooms and take things, Jill was told. 

An administrator asked, “Was your mother’s jacket red?”

“Yes, why?” Jill replied.

“Someone else lost a red jacket, and when we checked all the closets, we found ten red jackets and sweaters in another resident’s closet.  She had been slipping into other residents’ rooms unseen and taking red clothing; she believes that everything red belongs to her.”  But Jill’s mother’s jacket wasn’t there.

Fourth, sometimes residents do not have showers or bathtubs in their bathrooms, and are helped to bathe in a common shower room.  Items such as as eyeglasses may be taken off but then left on a shelf in the shower room; when they are found, no one knows to whom they belong.

Fifth, sometimes one resident runs short of clean clothing or needs other items, and a staff member, intending to be helpful, “borrows” something from another resident (without telling the resident whose item is taken), and later forget to arrange for it to be returned after it is washed.

Sixth, dozens or even hundreds of caregivers, other employees (such as cleaners and meal service staff), volunteers, residents, temporary employees from outside agencies, etc., may have ready access to residents’ rooms. While organizations try hard to ensure that people they allow in are honest, sometimes someone violates that trust and steals from vulnerable residents, who may not be capable of lodging complaints.  

Next week’s column will describe steps you can take to help avoid similar problems.