6 Alarming Issues in Nursing Homes and Ways to Tackle Them

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Nursing Homes

Statistics indicate that 16.5% of Americans were aged 65 in 2019, thereby showing the requirement for our fellow citizens to determine how to take care of their parents. Today, homeowners cannot juggle their employment-related responsibilities while catering to senior citizens’ medical demands. Thus, long-term facilities emerge as favorable solutions to provide your parents with the caregiving they deserve. 

But we shouldn’t neglect several problematic issues that have tarnished the reputation of the healthcare institution in the 21st century. Clients have complained that long-term facilities mistreat patients and subject them to stress. For this reason, we’ll state some of these problems with their solutions for your know-how.

Problems with nursing facilities today

In 2021, journalists published several online articles describing the miserable situation of nursing homes that they declared “broken” during the pandemic. Statistics from 2020 were already revealing how 41% of Americans didn’t trust assisted-living communities to keep older adults safe from COVID. It’s always difficult to have your parents migrate to nursing homes. However, you can’t always ensure whether your parents are happy there or not. 

There are different challenges associated with long-term facilities, and some of them can hurt your loved ones. A person should understand these problems and realize what actions they can take to prevent them.

  1. Physical abuse

Studies have shown that one-third of long-term facilities are cited for injuring patients each year. If you’ve seen signs that your parents were mistreated physically, you may take legal action against the concerned institution. 

Statistics indicate that 1 in 24 cases of elder abuse is reported to authorities. So, you must contact a well-experienced nursing home abuse attorney to seek justice for your parents. The lawyer will hold the guilty party responsible for their crimes, prevent future incidents, and help you seek compensation. Thus, call these lawyers now.

  1. Financial abuse

People have complained about nursing homes overcharging them, which counts as financial abuse by these long-term facilities. Now, these expenditures are generally affordable thanks to Medicaid and Medicare. However, some residents may find monthly expenses that aren’t reasonable. Also, some lawyers have revealed that nursing homes have even double-charged forgetful residents or charged them for something they didn’t request. 

What’s the solution? If your parents own a house, employ a caregiver to stop by to provide the necessary assistance—this method’s much cheaper for people.

  1. Emotional abuse

While most nursing facilities aren’t harming patients physically or financially, they may be hurting them emotionally. Verbal abuse instances include the staff insulting, reviling, demeaning, or threatening your parents. This emotional mistreatment leads to your parents being forced to live in stress and anxiety. 

So, you can take legal action against the nursing facility if they’ve subjected your loved ones to emotional distress. Don’t tolerate verbal abuse under any condition.

  1. Restricted entertainment

While boredom and isolation disturb many patients, others are bothered by limited entertainment. Nursing homes provide patients with several opportunities to participate in recreational and health-boosting activities. However, residents complain that they don’t have the freedom to choose their preferred activities and generally face restrictions. 

How to solve this? We suggest clients discuss their parents’ recreational independence with the nursing staff. Have them go to their desired locations instead of limiting them to what the group has planned to do today.

  1. Neglect

Staffing problems in nursing homes cause patients to feel neglected. As a result, 74% of people state that nursing facilities don’t have enough workers, and the ones they have are poorly-trained for this job. This staffing deficiency leads to managers ignoring established standards and refusing genuine patient requests. 

Now, what can you do to remedy this situation? If your parents suffered some injury due to staffing deficiency, the nursing facility is liable for this accident. You may seek justice on your parents’ behalf by taking legal actions against the facility and receiving some compensation.

  1. Malnourishment

Your loved ones deserve proper meals to stay healthy in nursing homes. So, if you find symptoms of malnourishment (weight loss), contact your lawyer to remedy this situation. Clients should never tolerate malnourishment, and nursing home abuse lawyers can help you seek justice. Also, these allegations are considered “neglect” on behalf of the nursing staff. This term further includes these:

  • Bedsores
  • Poor hygiene
  • Medication errors

Conclusion

We’ve established how long-term caregiving facilities are rampant with several issues that have prevented people from trusting these institutions. Clients complain that their parents face abuse and neglect by the nursing staff. This abuse (physical and emotional) remains an under-recognized matter in our country today. For this reason, you should hire a nursing home abuse attorney for dealing with such cases and make the guilty party for their crimes. 

Moreover, you can take legal action if your parents are malnourished by the nursing staff. In smaller/crowded facilities, you should speak with concerned managers on your parents’ behalf. They’ll ensure that patients don’t encounter anything unpleasant during their stay.

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