4 telltale signs of nursing home abuse and neglect
Putting a loved one in a nursing home may be the right choice for your family, but you likely still have concerns about abuse and neglect. The National Council on Aging states that among Americans 60 and older, at least one in 10 have experienced some form of abuse. Identifying...
Continue ReadingBedsores are often an early indicator of nursing home neglect
If your elderly mother, father or grandparent lives in a nursing home, you rely on staff to provide adequate care. After all, your loved one likely needs some assistance managing both everyday tasks and medical conditions. Unfortunately, though, nursing home neglect may be more common than you suspect. The National...
Continue ReadingNursing home abuse, neglect cases often go unreported
Even as the number of elderly adults in the U.S. continues to rise, recent studies show that cases of neglect, abuse and financial manipulation by caregivers remain all too common. Last summer, a study by the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that an estimated 1 in 5 emergency...
Continue ReadingFederal data shows many nursing home staffing shortages
One of the biggest reasons for nursing home neglect is not that the staff doesn’t care. It’s that they just do not have enough people on staff. Try as they might, they can’t get everything done and they can’t offer proper care to every single person in the nursing home....
Continue ReadingMalnutrition can have a serious impact on the elderly
If your loved one is getting neglected in a nursing home or assisted living facility, they may not be getting all of the nutrients that they need every day. This can lead to malnutrition, which can have a drastic impact on their health. Depending on their mental and physical capabilities,...
Continue ReadingAre assisted living facilities safe for people with dementia?
As the American population ages, there’s been considerable growth in the assisted living industry. Approximately 40 percent of the people in assisted living facilities have dementia. Unfortunately, the people who work in many of these facilities aren’t trained or equipped to properly care for them. This can be dangerous for...
Continue ReadingProgram seeks to cut hospital readmissions by nursing homes
The federal government is taking steps to try to reduce the number of nursing home patients who return to the hospital within 30 days after their previous stay with a program they’ve recently implemented. Based on readmission rates over the next year (from Oct. 2018 through Sept. 2019), nursing homes...
Continue ReadingDo dementia patients live longer in care facilities or at home?
If you have a loved one who’s suffering from dementia, it’s likely becoming increasingly more difficult to care for them and ensure their safety at home. They may wander away — sometimes even taking the keys to the car and driving hundreds of miles — if they aren’t watched constantly....
Continue ReadingChanges in reporting shed light on nursing home staffing issues
All of us who have loved ones in nursing homes are concerned about the staffing levels. We know that patients in an understaffed facility are more likely to suffer injuries because someone isn’t always available to help them when they want or need to move. There are more likely to...
Continue ReadingNursing home evacuations during storms — stressful but necessary
If you have a loved one in a nursing home in the path of a storm, you want assurance that they’ll be safely evacuated if necessary. However, those evacuations can be highly stressful and frightening to elderly people. Further, the accommodations in the facilities to which they’re moved are often...
Continue ReadingWhat should you look for when choosing a nursing home?
Choosing a nursing home for a loved one is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Unfortunately, some people don’t take the time to adequately research their options. A hospital may inform you of the imminent discharge of an elderly family member who will need care you can’t...
Continue ReadingReport: Nursing home staffing levels have been overstated
If you have a family member in a South Carolina nursing home, you’ve likely been concerned at times about whether there were enough qualified staff members available to provide the level of care and personal attention your loved one needs and deserves. A recent study by The New York Times...
Continue ReadingFamily sues nursing home for death of elderly man after fall
The family of a World War II veteran is suing the Cherryville, North Carolina, nursing home for his death in January 2017, a week after suffering a fall in which he broke his leg. The 98-year-old grandfather, who had once been a Teamsters union leader, had been living in Carolina...
Continue ReadingProving a slip-and-fall case in a nursing home
Leaving a loved one in a nursing home is hard enough, but realizing that there was danger you didn’t know about is devastating. When you place a loved one in nursing care, you expect him or her to receive care and to be monitored for safety. You don’t expect to...
Continue ReadingWoman files lawsuit after nursing home misses infected wound
Nursing homes have an obligation to keep their patients safe. When they do not, they’re violating more than just the promises they’ve made to families. They’re violating the law. Take, for example, this case involving a man who passed away in May 2015. He had fallen and had to be...
Continue ReadingUsing social media the right way to avoid nursing home abuse
It can be fun to use social media to share your life with others. It’s important, though, to realize that what you share isn’t always legal or allowed. For instance, if you are working at a nursing home and want to share a picture of a resident, it’s not legal...
Continue ReadingSlip-and-fall accidents can harm nursing home residents
Although you probably think of nursing home accidents as problems with getting the wrong medications or injuries as a result of falling on the way to the restroom or getting out of bed, the truth is that slip-and-fall accidents happen everywhere in these facilities. From front entryways where residents and...
Continue ReadingRecognizing elder abuse is vital to protecting your loved one
Identifying elder abuse is the first step to stopping it. Elder abuse isn’t always easy to identify. Sometimes, the elderly are unable to communicate about the abuse. Other times, they don’t want to reach out to others for help or to feel like a burden. When an elderly person goes...
Continue ReadingThe elderly are at their mercy; hold nursing homes accountable
The elderly are easy targets for those who would abuse them. They are dependent on those around them in many ways, which means that they’re easy to take advantage of. The most common form of abuse is medical abuse, in which the medical providers or caregivers don’t give the right...
Continue ReadingBe aware of the way pressure ulcers form
There are many risk factors of bedsores you should be familiar with if you have an elderly or aging loved one in a hospital or long-term care facility. Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers or pressure sores, develop when there is prolonged pressure placed on the skin. For example, if...
Continue ReadingPreventing dehydration makes the elderly healthier
When your loved one is in a nursing home or hospital, it’s important that he or she is drinking enough fluids. If he or she is not, then the nurses or doctors there should be willing to use an IV to make sure that your loved one does not become...
Continue ReadingAre adults with disabilities suffering from abuse?
Many adults with disabilities in South Carolina are depending on others for their daily living requirements. Some of these adults are receiving care at nursing facilities, and just like any other person at a nursing home, these adults are at risk of being abused or neglected. According to statistics from...
Continue ReadingWatch out for these 3 signs of nursing home negligence
When you place a loved one in a nursing home, it’s important to know that he or she is being cared for. If you find that your loved one is not being taken care of, you may be in a position to file a medical malpractice or nursing home neglect...
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