Choosing a Nursing Home to Avoid Abuse or Neglect of Residents

July 05, 2012

When a family must select a nursing home for an elderly or dependent loved one, they are often preoccupied with the details and might not pause to think of the institution's reputation for medication mistakes or other examples of negligent residential care. As important as financial considerations and other realities are, nursing home choices should also be based on several other important factors.

A few common sense steps can help those who must select residential care for a parent or other loved one:
- Ask staff about accommodations for special needs and coordination of activities
- Spend time visiting a nursing home to sample meals, check out facilities and observe residents to get a feel for the environment
- Ask for references from the staff from the families of residents with similar conditions, and thoroughly review staffing evaluations and other data from sources such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- Keep in mind that proximity to loved ones who will most frequently visit the nursing home can help a family keep an eye on the quality of ongoing care

Finding the right nursing home can present financial challenges. According to AARP, the median annual rate for a semi-private room in a North Carolina nursing home has surpassed $66,000. Two of three Americans over 65 will eventually need permanent or temporary nursing home care.

Extensive planning might not always be practical due to a serious injury or illness that creates an immediate need for full-time residential care. Even after making a decision based on solid information and exhaustive research, visiting family members might begin to suspect neglect or abuse from nursing home staff. A personal injury attorney can explain the laws that govern lawsuits against nursing home staff and administrators and lay out a family's legal options.

Article provided by Christian & Davis, LLC
Visit us at www.christiandavislaw.com