Florida Injury Lawyer Blog
Making the decision to place a loved one in a nursing home is always difficult. Your family in Hollywood may want to provide the best care for an elderly loved one, but their conditions or their needs may simply exceed the care you can offer. A Hollywood nursing home can promise to offer better medical care, professional attention, and the support your family member needs.
Unfortunately, a number of nursing home neglect and abuse cases in Hollywood and across the country over the years have shown that sometimes the places which claim to care for the vulnerable and elderly residents sometimes do not protect residents.
If your loved one needs the support and help a nursing home can offer, there are a few steps you can take to reduce your loved ones’ risk:
1) Get recommendations for nursing homes.
Talk to other families who have relied on nursing home care. Talk to doctors and experts in the field. Get recommendations for good nursing homes rather than simply selecting one out of a directory.
2) Compare nursing homes with visits.
All nursing homes will make promises about the care they provide. Always visit any nursing homes you are considering to get a sense of what kind of support they offer. Take a close look around. Is the nursing home clean and well-maintained? Do the people – both residents and staff – look happy and well-cared for? What ratio of staff to patients is there? What kinds of activities and services are offered? Is there any sign of odor or poor maintenance? Does the nursing home seem like a caring, clean environment?
3) Check nursing home backgrounds.
Check to see whether nursing homes have had complaints lodged against them or have had disciplinary measures reported against them over the past few years.
4) Always read policies.
Most nursing homes have written policies. Make sure you read these. What is the process for complaints? What kinds of background checks does the nursing home run on staff and other residents? Is there a no-tolerance policy for violence and abuse? Are steps taken to ensure other residents in the home are not violent or abusive? When problems have occurred in the past, how has the nursing home handled the issue?
5) Make it a policy to visit often.
One of the best ways to protect your loved one from nursing home abuse and neglect is to visit regularly. Arrange to have friends and family visit a resident at a nursing home regularly, especially at first. Any signs of neglect or abuse – such as unexplained injuries, sudden weight loss, poor physical hygiene, withdrawn behavior, bed sores, pest infestations, and other signs – should be dealt with quickly and should prompt a full investigation. Often, it is concerned friends and visitors who uncover signs of abuse and neglect.
If you believe a loved one has been abused or neglected in a nursing home contact Flaxman Law Group for a free accident consultation. Our caring attorneys would be happy to sit down with you and your family to discuss your situation and the legal avenues open to you. You may have a civil suit and other options for helping your loved one get out of an abusive situation and into a more caring and supportive environment.