Take Care in Selecting a Nursing Home for Your Loved One

October 04, 2012

Take Care in Selecting a Nursing Home for Your Loved One

Alarmingly, when a Massachusetts family must entrust a relative to the care of a nursing home, that loved one could be at risk of harm. If a nursing home fails to employ enough adequately trained, properly screened staff, or if the home fails to provide consistent supervision, it could be difficult or impossible to provide the care that residents require.

Residents might not receive appropriate nutrition or fluids necessary to sustain them. They could suffer from pressure sores or bed sores if left too long to lie in bed. Lack of vigilance by the staff could mean that residents might wander and be at risk for falls or even assault. Mistakes in administering medications could have serious, even deadly, consequences.

Given all these concerns, it is not reassuring to learn that 19 central Massachusetts nursing homes received "below average" or "much below average" scores for overall quality in a Nursing Home Compare study recently published by Medicare. The study evaluated 62 nursing homes in Massachusetts.

In contrast, 11 central Massachusetts nursing homes were rated "much above average." One administrator at a high-scoring long-term care center provided some guidance for families facing the difficult task of choosing a nursing home for a family member. The Medicare ratings are helpful, but they are no substitute for seeing a facility firsthand. In an article by GoLocalWorcester, administrator Steve Hall urged families to tour facilities and pay attention to the level of cleanliness. He also encouraged interacting with staff to evaluate their responsiveness. Staff should be respectful as well as attentive.

While a high Medicare rating may be an attractive factor a family will want to take into account, it could be hard on both the resident and the family if the resident is placed in a top-rated home that is too far away for the family to make frequent visits. Contact with family is an important part of the resident's quality of life and should not be ignored when a family is making the decision to select a particular home.

Despite all the care and foresight a family might exercise in selecting a nursing home, unfortunately, sometimes residents do sustain injuries that are attributable to deficiencies in these facilities or nursing home negligence. Having an advocate to support the family and provide expert legal counsel is important when someone has suffered maltreatment or injury in a nursing home. An experienced personal injury attorney can help families seek to hold the facility accountable and obtain compensation for injuries.

Article provided by Kenney & Conley, P.C.
Visit us at http://www.kenneyconley.com