What housekeeping doesn't see, or overlooks

At this nursing home John is a resident who eats in the "assisted" dining room. He needs help to eat and sometimes he has behaviors. He gets short tempered or uncomfortable and can get pretty rowdy. He can use one side of his body pretty well and sometimes throws the dishes his food is in. Sometimes the food goes everywhere. Since I've been here come his food has been on the floor, walls, ceiling, windows, tables, and chairs. He even got my new blue suede shoes a few years ago come when he tossed his tray and puréed green beans landed on them. I was mortified. Thank heaven, they cleaned up well. But it made me shy of sitting beside John at mealtime.

I'm sure the housekeepers get tired of cleaning up after John. His food is puréed so it is pretty runny and messy. They put thickener in it to make it easier for him to swallow. The thickener is modified food starch, so the food is extra sticky. If they don't get it wiped off right away, it sticks to the wall better than the paint they use here.

It's really strange because some of John's food – blueberries for instance – have stained the metal kickplate at the bottom of the double doors between the assisted and regular dining rooms. I don't even think they know what the stain is anymore. I think I'm the only one that remembers the one day that John threw the plate with his puréed blueberries and they hit the door. Now, I'm sure they could clean that stain off with brass cleaner, stainless steel cleaner, or something. But yet, it remains there.

Two years ago John threw his plate which contained puréed meat among other things. It went on to the wall and just about everywhere in the corner. I noticed afterwards that they missed a fairly large spot of it on the vinyl baseboard in the corner. I watched it every day for several days. I wondered if I should say something to one of the housekeepers. Then I wondered if they tried to get it off, and it would not come off. Then I wondered, if they scrubbed it and marked up the baseboard. All I know is, that spot of, what looks like puréed meat stain, is still there.

It is now over two years later. I first saw that stain in  October 2015. Sometimes it's interesting to watch the most minute things, like I have been watching that spot on the vinyl baseboard in the corner. Many times I've been in that back dining room passing housekeepers. And I wondered if they can even see that spot. That puréed meat stain is dark brown, the vinyl baseboard is a worn tan color. It is noticeable.

I have no idea why no one in housekeeping has removed that spot. Perhaps it will not come off. Another thing might be that the maintenance man said that some vinyl baseboard would be replaced, and they thought that part might be. The lobby area outside the dining room did have new vinyl baseboard installed last spring. But they did not replace it in the back dining room.

Maybe housekeeping thinks it will be done this year…