Family ... Facility Care
Is Your Nusing Home Any Good?
from NursingHomeAbuse.net
When placing a loved one into a nursing home, it’s important to ensure that they will be cared for and treated with respect. Often, elderly residents suffer from varying forms of mental incapacity and are unable to communicate about their surroundings and circumstances. This can be frightening when leaving your family member to be cared for in a facility knowing they have no way to communicate possible abuse or neglect to you. It is therefore important to choose a nursing home wisely and investigate any potential pitfalls before entrusting them to care for your loved one.
Don’t let the tour of the home’s highlights be your only guide to its quality. It’s very important to ask questions of the staff, the nurses and yourself when making this important decision. If you notice any of the following, it may be a good idea to move on to another nursing home right away.
Bruises, grip marks, swelling or welts on patients’ bodies
This can be a serious sign of physical abuse by the nursing home staff, or at best serious neglect for possibly allowing patients to fall while not properly supervised. Elderly nursing home residents are at a higher risk for accidents and falls, and careful protocols must be followed by all staff to ensure that does not happen. At best, it can still be a sign of understaffing and an inability to care properly for all residents. A government study found that fewer than 1 out of 10 homes employ the optimum number of nurses and aides. In more serious cases, these marks can be direct indications of intentional physical abuse by the staff against a resident.
Delays in calls being answered or improperly prepared or insufficient food
It is the duty of the nursing home to ensure that residents are cared for properly, including providing proper nourishment and requests for assistance by a resident. If you notice that the call light at the nurses’ station goes off for a significant amount of time without a response, it may indicate neglect of the patients by the staff. Additionally, failure by the nursing home staff to adequately monitor a resident’s weight and fluid and food intake can result in serious medical problems. Malnutrition and dehydration is a serious risk for elderly residents who often cannot tend to their own needs. It is a violation of the nursing home’s duty of care for the failure to adequately monitor the nutrition and hydration of its residents.
Smells of urine or feces or bodily fluids on the floor or bedsores on patients
It is the duty of the nursing home to ensure that all residents are cleaned and cared for properly, including changing and bathing the residents should accidents occur. The failure to ensure the cleanliness of residents constitutes neglect, and is a violation of Federal Regulations. It can lead to infection and even death for at risk elderly patients.
Additionally, elderly residents sometimes are confined to their bed, and improper care can lead to serious issues with pressure ulcers, that can ultimately become infected and cause serious medical complications or even death. It only takes a patient being repositioned every two hour to avoid these pressure ulcers. If you notice foul odors on residents who have not been repositioned at appropriate intervals, this can indicate a serious lack of care on the part of the nursing home staff. Recent studies by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging have revealed widespread malnutrition and failure to prevent these pressure ulcers.
Treatment of the residents by staff members and the happiness of residents
If you see the staff members treat you or residents rudely, it can indicate a lack of proper care for the residents. It is important for the dignity of the residents to be treated with respect, and federal regulations mandate this as a requirement for nursing homes receiving federal funding. Seriously unhappy residents that are depressed, withdrawn, immobile, lonely or fearful of the staff can indicate issues of neglect or even serious physical abuse by the staff. It is important to get a feel for the people that will be caring for your loved ones, because their happiness and well-being is just as important as their health when entrusting their care to a nursing home.
