Choosing to place an elderly family member into a care facility is one of the hardest decisions to make. Be aware of any violations that a potential facility may have accrued over the years, as they can alert you to the potential abuse and neglect at that facility.
Below are some of the most frequent nursing home violations that occur throughout the United States:
Lack of Health Care Plan: Residents of a nursing home should have a comprehensive care plan that is created by the client, family members, nursing home staff and doctors. Residents can set goals they would like to achieve, and how often these goals will be reassessed. Care facilities are responsible for the everyday implementation of each resident’s care plan.
However, many facilities either do not create individual plans for every resident, or start any type of plan at all. If an individual plan for each resident is not developed, it could result in the resident receiving incorrect treatment and lead to harm.
Unsafe Food Storage and Preparation: Sanitary conditions for a nursing home include storing, preparing, distributing and serving food properly to prevent foodborne illness. Improper holding temperature is a large contributing factor of foodborne illness. Facilities must follow procedures to especially prevent salmonella and E-coli contamination.
A facility’s staff should be using sanitized utensils and protecting food from contamination when transporting meals from the preparation area to residents’ dining areas. Locations that do not follow these procedures may have been cited accordingly.
Insufficient Numbers of Appropriately Trained Staff: As the aging population is rapidly growing, more of the nonprofit nursing homes are having resource limitations because of funding, and as a result, more money-driven corporate for-profit homes are appearing. For-profit facilities make many attempts to cut costs in every area possible. These cuts lower the integrity of the level of care that residents receive.
Additionally, corporate-run facilities depend government funding such as Medicare and Medicaid. Since government funding is given at a flat rate to the homes, they receive money per resident. As a result, these facilities try to place as many residents as possible at a location. Because of the low ratio of residents to staff, the quality of care deteriorates.
To ensure that your loved ones receive appropriate care in their nursing home, communicate with them, the nursing home staff and their doctors on a regular basis. For any additional questions regarding nursing home violations, contact Hupy and Abraham, S.C. today.