I am a property manager. One of my tenants is an elderly woman who lives alone. Over the weekend she fell and was taken to the hospital. This is the third time she fell in a four day period. I am concerned about her and about her dog who is alone in the apartment. My tenant lives alone in an apartment building I manage. Lets call her Mary. Mary is in declining health and as far as I know, has no friends or family. She has not given us any emergency contact. I spoke to a nurse at the hospital where she’s been since yesterday and she said that Mary is awake and alert but they will be keeping her a few more days. Mary is not responding to my phone calls or emails.
I am heartbroken thinking about this poor woman all alone. I am concerned about her being sent back home and falling again, or worse. I am not a doctor but everyone on my staff (doormen, super, etc) think she is declining rapidly and should not be left alone. Should I… tell someone? She is Section 8 and I don’t want to get her in trouble or take away her choices, etc. She is normally a very feisty, independent woman.
Of most immediate concern is that she has a dog. A member of my staff gave the dog food and water last night but… A. we cant keep doing that and B. the dog needs to be walked/cared for! I spoke briefly to an animal rescue place today and they offered to come by once a day and feed/water the dog until Mary returns but I’m afraid that they will come by, decide the dog shouldn’t be there, and take him away. This dog is all this woman has in the world. I realize the dog’s safety is the most important thing but…. AHHHH I don’t know what to do!
So my immediate question is, what should I do about her dog, and then my second question is, should I alert someone about the woman herself? Presumably the hospital won’t discharge her if she’s really that bad, right? But then they discharged her last week after her first fall, and then she fell two more times. So maybe they're just pushing her through the system. There must be something I can do to help. We're in NYC if that matters.
I am heartbroken thinking about this poor woman all alone. I am concerned about her being sent back home and falling again, or worse. I am not a doctor but everyone on my staff (doormen, super, etc) think she is declining rapidly and should not be left alone. Should I… tell someone? She is Section 8 and I don’t want to get her in trouble or take away her choices, etc. She is normally a very feisty, independent woman.
Of most immediate concern is that she has a dog. A member of my staff gave the dog food and water last night but… A. we cant keep doing that and B. the dog needs to be walked/cared for! I spoke briefly to an animal rescue place today and they offered to come by once a day and feed/water the dog until Mary returns but I’m afraid that they will come by, decide the dog shouldn’t be there, and take him away. This dog is all this woman has in the world. I realize the dog’s safety is the most important thing but…. AHHHH I don’t know what to do!
So my immediate question is, what should I do about her dog, and then my second question is, should I alert someone about the woman herself? Presumably the hospital won’t discharge her if she’s really that bad, right? But then they discharged her last week after her first fall, and then she fell two more times. So maybe they're just pushing her through the system. There must be something I can do to help. We're in NYC if that matters.