Tips for Ensuring an Elder’s Proper Care in a Nursing Home
Avoiding Nursing Home Neglect
Choosing a nursing home for your elderly loved one is an important decision. Not only are you choosing the place where they spend their time, but you are also making a decision about the nurses, caregivers, and administrators who you will trust with your loved one’s care. While the hard truth is that you can never be 100 percent certain that you have made the right choice, there are several important steps you can take – both before and after choosing a nursing home – to help ensure that your elderly family member receives proper care.
Tips for Choosing a Nursing Home for Your Loved One
- Look for Low Staff Turnover Rates. With staff turnover rates in nursing homes as high as 40 percent, this is a key consideration when choosing a home for your loved one.
Why? For one, high turnover means a higher likelihood of mistakes. It takes time to get to know residents’ needs, and if your loved one is constantly being assigned a new caregiver, the quality of care he or she receives may suffer as a result. For another, high turnover rates are generally associated with low employee satisfaction. Caregivers who are unhappy or dissatisfied with their jobs are less likely to put in the time and effort you expect for your family member’s care.
- Look for Obvious Signs of Potential Health and Safety Issues. If the common areas of the nursing home are not properly maintained, what can you expect behind closed doors?
When you visit a nursing home (and you should visit before committing to long-term care), take note of any potential risks that you see. This could include things like:
- Frayed carpets, peeling paint, and other maintenance issues
- Lack of available nurses and staff
- Lack of available safety equipment and emergency preparedness
- Medical equipment left out and unsupervised
- Messes that haven’t been cleaned
- Obstructions in hallways
- Talk to Current Residents and Their Families. If you want an honest assessment, talk to the people who can provide an unbiased opinion.
While you certainly want to speak to the nursing home’s administrators and the nurses who would be caring for your elderly family member, you will also want to speak with current residents and their families. Even if the nursing home gives you references, still conduct your own investigation. This doesn’t have to be anything formal or invasive – simply start conversations in the lobby or parking lot and ask people what they think about the nursing home’s care.
- Use a Checklist. Checklists can help you stay organized and ask questions you wouldn’t have thought to ask without them.
You are not the first person to have questions about choosing the right nursing home, and there are several resources available that can help guide you in making an informed decision. Rather than trying to come up with a list of questions and to-dos all on your own, consider taking advantage of free checklists like:
- Medicare.gov’s Nursing Home Checklist
- Choosing the Right Nursing Home from AARP
- Nursing Homes: Making the Right Choice from the National Institute on Aging
- Ask about Staffing Levels, Training, Experience, and Education. Is it fair to say that you only want the best for your loved one?
When evaluating a nursing home, knowing the quality of the staff is a key component of understanding what you can expect in terms of quality of care. Understaffing is a major issue at many nursing homes, and with the turnover issues discussed above, you want to make sure that the nursing home’s employment standards are high enough to ensure proper care.
Tips for Keeping Track of Your Loved One’s Care
Once you choose a nursing home, the job of ensuring that your loved one receives proper care is really just beginning. While many instances of nursing home neglect and abuse are difficult to detect, being proactive will give you the best chance to seek help as soon as possible. Here are our tips for monitoring nursing home care:
- Visit regularly and often.
- Don’t assume that poor care is “normal.”
- Don’t be afraid to speak up if you have an issue or concern with a staff member.
- Don’t let problems linger.
- Talk to your loved one. Ask questions about his or her care.
- Monitor meals and prescriptions to make sure that your loved one is getting proper nutrition and medication.
- Question unexpected issues such as bruises, sudden illnesses, and mood swings.
- Seek medical attention outside of the nursing home as soon as you think it might be necessary.
- Keep an eye on your loved one’s finances. Financial abuse is one of the most common forms of elder abuse.
- Don’t feel “bad” for the nursing home when you need to hire an attorney to protect your loved one.
Remember, nursing home caregivers make mistakes just like everybody else. If you see something, say something. It could mean the difference for getting the care and treatment your loved one deserves.
Jodat Law Group | Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse Lawyers in Tampa, Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice, FL
At Jodat Law Group, we are committed to helping victims of nursing home negligence and abuse throughout the greater Tampa area. If you need help taking action against a nursing home, we encourage you to contact us right away for a free consultation.
