Families pay a fortune to nursing homes, entrusting their elderly loved ones to their care. With what they pay for, they expect nothing but top-notch services.
A woman felt remorse after her mother’s death upon realizing she wasn’t treated well during her last few months. She accused her care providers of neglect and not allowing her mom to die with dignity.At first, Steph Fitzgerald didn’t believe her mom Fran Nilsson when she claimed the staff was constantly rude. She shrugged it off and told her mom to stop.
However, upon installing a camera inside her room for their family’s peace of mind, what she discovered left her scarred and remorseful for what her mom had to endure. “[The] last twelve months would have had to have been her worst year in her entire life,” Fitzgerald said.
With the help of the camera, Fitzgerald witnessed several instances where her mother’s care providers disrespected her and talked down on her. Once, a worker used profanity on Nilsson while bathing her. Another time, the staff constantly talked over her and refused to listen to her requests.
In August 2022, a chest of drawers fell on the old woman’s lap while using it for assistance to stand. She yelled for help, and it took a while for anyone to respond. Nilsson cried out to her late husband instead.
“Peter, Peter, I’ve nearly killed myself here,” she could be heard saying in the clip. It took the staff 25 minutes to help her, after which they scolded her for what happened.
Days before Nilsson died, two residents entered her room and stayed there for a prolonged period of time.
Fitzgerald watched everything through the camera. Disappointed that no one even checked her mom after what happened, she called the institution, and it was done two and a half hours later.
Nilsson passed away in April 2023. Fitzgerald hasn’t stopped thinking of how her mom’s life could have been different if she received proper care from the nursing home. She shared:
“It has just torn the guts out of both of us. We’ve still got a long way to go to get through it. Every day is a challenge. If it wouldn’t have been for the camera, I wouldn’t have found out the way she was being treated.”
Days before Nilsson died, two residents entered her room and stayed there for a prolonged period of time. One resident wandered inside her room and even touched her face. With one hand on her back, the elderly resident used her other hand to touch Nilsson’s face.
“Close your mouth,” the woman ordered. Nilsson was no longer as responsive as she used to be and had no choice but to watch the other resident touch her face.Upon seeing the footage, Fitzgerald was furious. Her mom was dying, and other residents were disrespecting her. It was too much for her to bear.
Nilsson’s Daughter Takes Action
Fitzgerald thought having a camera inside the room would improve things for their family, but that wasn’t the case. “It has torn the guts out of both of us. If it wouldn’t have been for the camera, I wouldn’t have found out the way she was being treated,” she admitted.
She took all the video footage and reported the institution to authorities. She believed her mom wasn’t appropriately treated there and didn’t want anybody else to experience the same fate.
Despite her complaints, the home for the elderly was reaccredited until May 2025. Fitzgerald argued that her mom deserved so much more than the “disgusting” treatment she received, and she’d be gutted to discover that the same people who did this to her could still do it to others.
