Tuscaloosa Nursing Home Abuse: Do your Part During Holiday Visits

Dec 5, 2011 - Personal Injury by Cross & Smith

We expect our loved one’s nursing homes to provide the best quality of care and resources available, especially through the holiday season. It is important for families to seek a home that is able to provide safety and security. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse and neglect in Alabama is an all too common occurrence.

Nursing homes have a responsibility to take the proper measures to provide a hazard-free and comfortable living environment. Accidents and forms of neglect and abuse in a nursing home can lead to long-lasting psychological, mental and physical injury and too often results in death.

Our Tuscaloosa nursing home neglect attorneys understand that owners and employees of these facilities must follow state and federal laws to ensure the safety of residents. These laws help to protect residents’ safety, environment and well-being. All too often, these standards are not met and without your interactive relationship with the facilities, the dangers can go unnoticed or unreported. Be an active member in your elderly loved one’s life and in their stay at a nursing home.

Some of the most important stipulations under these regulations are the following:

-Residents must be offered necessary medical care that is free of intentional or negligent error.

-Nursing home employees must recognize and exercise their duty to help residents to sustain their ability to complete daily living activities such as bathing, general recreation, eating, etc.

-Nursing home employees are required to help prevent a patient from deteriorating whenever and however possible.

-Staff members are to provide an adequate amount of hydration and additional nutrition for each resident.

Having a loved one in a nursing home can be tough, we know. Worries can intensify during the holiday season. Luckily, you can do your part to increase the safety of your family members in their nursing home. Remember to keep an eye out for a few important factors while visiting your loved ones for the holidays.

Key points to look for the choosing or checking in on someone in a nursing home:

-Does the facility have an evacuation plan? This plan needs to be practiced by everyone in the facility regularly.

-Are the facilities well maintained? You want to make sure that doors and hallways are not blocked.

-Take a look at the staff-to-patient ratio. It’s important to see how many staff members are working during the “slow” hours of the day (nights, weekends and holidays). Is there always supervisory staff there on site?

-Does the home have working safety systems, such as smoke detectors, sprinklers and alternative exits?

-How does the nursing home management handle your questions regarding the safety of residents? Do they take the questions seriously and are they forthcoming with information?

Everyone needs to police the nursing home system to protect our older adults, especially during the holiday visits.

Above all, remember that nursing homes are responsible for the general well-being of your loved ones. The main component of the staff’s responsibility is in their creation of a secure, safe, reliable and comfortable place to live. When facilities don’t comply with state and federal regulations, it’s critical for you to seek the help of an experienced and understanding nursing home abuse lawyer.

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