Regular nursing home visits are one of the best ways families can monitor a loved one’s well-being and notice changes in their behavior over time. However, just visiting isn’t always enough to ensure a resident is being treated properly and receiving the care they need.
Properly observing your loved one’s care during your visits can help you uncover nursing home abuse, neglect, or significant quality issues that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
What Are Some Physical Warning Signs of Abuse or Neglect I Should Watch For?
As part of the natural process of getting older, your loved one’s physical health will worsen over time, making injuries and medical problems more common. However, certain types of physical ailments are more likely to point to abuse or neglect than to the inevitable consequences of aging:
- Recurring, unexplained injuries: If your loved one suffers from bruises, fractures, and other injuries regularly without good reason, it could signal physical abuse or a lack of proper preventative care.
- Bed sores and pressure ulcers: Elder care professionals should be well aware that nursing home residents are at high risk of developing pressure sores without adequate movement and care. If your loved one is suffering from bed sores, it’s a clear red flag for neglect.
- Malnutrition, sudden weight loss, or increased frailty: Significant changes in a resident’s physical health could be be signs of a serious medical problem. If there’s no clear justification, your loved one may be suffering from abuse or neglect.
- Poor hygiene and living conditions: If your loved one appears to have gone unwashed for a significant period of time, or only has dirty or soiled clothing and bedding available, they likely aren’t receiving the care or support they need.
What Emotional and Behavioral Changes Should I Look For?
Abuse and neglect do not always leave visible impacts on a nursing home resident. Instead, significant changes in your loved one’s behavior and emotions might point toward unacceptable conduct by staff:
- Withdrawal: Pulling back from previously enjoyed hobbies, activities, or social interactions with other residents is a common sign of distress among nursing home residents.
- Sudden anxiety, fearfulness, or outbursts: If your loved one is acting depressed, stressed, or anxious—particularly around certain staff members—it could point toward abusive conduct.
- Not sleeping or eating: These behaviors can signal distress and lead to significant health problems.
How Can I Better Structure My Nursing Home Visits?
Some tips to help you better identify concerns during nursing home visits include:
- Come at varying times: If you always visit on a predictable schedule, staff will know when to expect you and may sanitize your loved one’s living conditions in advance. Arriving at different times can help you get a clearer picture of your loved one’s day-to-day life.
- Observe routines: Don’t spend your entire visit inside your loved one’s room. Instead, follow them throughout parts of their day, from mealtimes to communal activities.
- Ask open-ended questions: Pointed and accusatory questions can intimidate your loved one. To encourage honest conversations about care quality, ask about their life in a way that allows them to give a nuanced answer.
- Get to know staff: The same caregivers likely work with your loved one on a day-to-day basis. Having regular conversations with them can help humanize your loved one in their eyes, encouraging more attentive and personal care. It can also help you determine whether any staff members seem uninterested in your loved one’s well-being.
What Should I Look For in the Nursing Home Outside My Loved One’s Care?
Beyond simply evaluating your loved one’s care, take time during your visits to assess the overall care environment in the nursing home. Note whether common areas are clean and free of hazards, and observe how responsive staff are to residents’ needs.
The well-being of other residents can also help you evaluate your loved one’s treatment. Look out for residents you regularly see during your visits and observe their hygiene, physical health, and engagement with social interactions and activities. If residents who are visited less than your loved one show signs of distress, it can be a sign of general neglect in the facility.
A Nursing Home Visit Checklist: What to Watch For and Record
The following checklist of questions can serve as an easy, accessible reference to help you evaluate your loved one’s care before, during, and after visits to the nursing home:
Before Your Visit
During Your Visit
After Your Visit
How Do I Know I’m Not Overreacting to an Issue at the Nursing Home?
Many families of nursing home residents are hesitant to take action in the face of problems with their loved one, understanding that the effects of aging or overworked staff could explain the issue. However, staffing shortages are not an excuse for abuse or neglect. If you’re unsure whether your loved one is being treated properly, ask yourself these questions:
- Have you repeatedly asked staff to address the problem without success?
- Have your care requests and questions gone unanswered? Have staff made promises to you that aren’t being followed up on?
- Have staff answered your questions in detail, or are you just left with even more questions?
No nursing home resident receiving proper care should be dealing with bedsores, soiled clothing, or untreated medical problems. If your gut is telling you that your loved one is being abused or neglected, you should follow up with an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer.
What Should I Do If I Suspect Nursing Home Abuse?
If you believe your loved one is being abused or neglected, it’s important to take action as soon as you can. Start by gathering and preserving all relevant evidence, including medical records, written communications, and your notes concerning your loved one’s experiences.
Once you’ve compiled your evidence, make a complaint with the nursing home’s management and continue escalating the issue if necessary. If a written grievance report doesn’t resolve the problem, consider contacting the Illinois Long-Term Care Ombudsman. If you believe your loved one is in immediate danger, you should skip directly to reporting the situation to law enforcement.
At any stage in this process, a trusted nursing home abuse attorney can help you build your case, plan your next steps, and guide you toward an optimal resolution.
Speak With a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
At Levin & Perconti, our skilled legal team has helped pioneer the field of nursing home abuse litigation, featuring some of the first attorneys in the U.S. to file abuse and neglect cases. With over 400 years of combined legal experience and over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements recovered for our clients, we have the knowledge and track record to help you get the justice your family deserves.
Contact us online or call (312) 332-2872 today to schedule a free consultation with our trusted attorneys.
