Nursing Home Negligence – Red Flags to Watch For

More senior citizens are living in nursing homes. 1.4 million Americans currently reside in a long-term care facility, such as a nursing home. As the population grows, it is expected that those over the age over 85 who will reside in nursing homes will quadruple by 2050. This doesn’t even factor in the number of people young and old who may require short stays in nursing homes to rehabilitate from injuries, surgeries or other medical care and treatment.

Unfortunately, studies show that nearly 90% of nursing homes are not adequately staffed to properly care for patients. As a result, nursing home neglect is a rampant problem. In Illinois alone, over 3,000 residents complained of neglect last year. Standards dictate that homes should have at least one nurse for every 6 residents during the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift. Only about 10 percent of the homes across the nation meet that standard.

These are some red flags to look out for if you suspect nursing home abuse or neglect:

• Lack of basic hygiene, adequate food, or clean and appropriate clothing
• Lack of medical aids (glasses, walker, teeth, hearing aid, medications)
• A person with Alzheimer’s or dementia left unsupervised
• A person confined to bed is left without care
• Room cluttered, filthy, in disrepair, or having fire and safety hazards
• Lack of fall risk assessment or precautions undertaken
• Presence of untreated pressure “bed” sores (pressure ulcers) in residents

There are several proactive steps you can take to learn about nursing home red flags in advance. First, you can search online through the Illinois Department of Public Health to determine if a particular nursing home has been issued a citation or violated the Nursing Home Care Act or other relevant laws in a given month or year.

It’s also important to check local news stories to learn about the long-term care facility you are reviewing. If the facility has a history of abuse and neglect, there will be news stories about the patient care, prior lawsuits or government action.

Get as much information from the source as you can. The nursing home should have brochures and other materials available. Staff members should be able to explain the quality and level of care your loved one is receiving. Also be a keen observer of how the staff interacts with the residents at the nursing home. This is often a telltale sign of high or low-quality care.

Last, many of the issues facing seniors in nursing homes are the result of poor staffing. Whether or not your loved one receives high quality or low-quality care is directly determined by the number of staff available to care for them. Check to see if the nursing home is meeting federal staffing standards and ask the director of the nursing home for proof.

If you believe that a loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home, or if someone you love has suffered a serious injury or died as a result of abuse or neglect in a nursing home, call John Risvold at the Collins Law Firm today, for a free consultation and to learn how we might be able to help your family in this time of need.