Heritage Health Gillespie

The best way to protect yourself or a loved one from abuse in assisted living is by picking a facility with a proven history of high-quality care. Facilities who have good staffing practices, high ratings, and fair health inspection reports are most likely to have good employees who provide attentive, compassionate care and established protocols for resident safety and handling of complaints.

To find such a nursing home, first look up what facilities are available in your area. You can ask friends and acquaintances, doctors, or social workers for recommendations, or a quick internet search will give you plenty of results too. There may also be community authorities you can ask, such as your local senior and community activity center or a government program that supports senior citizens.

Once you know what facilities are nearby, do thorough research into each one so you can compare them in detail. This is when you look at the ratings and inspection reports on medicare.gov, or you can look at other websites to find resident reviews or news stories about each facility. Additionally, you can call your local long-term care ombudsman, state health department, or state licensing agency and ask if they have information on the facilities you’re considering.

Of course these days most nursing homes have their own websites where you can read about them. These sites can help you learn what services and amenities they offer, but every nursing home is going to advertise itself in its best light and ignore any of its deficiencies, so be sure to research them using unbiased resources too.

When you’ve whittled down your list of nursing homes to the best ones, schedule tours with them so you or a trusted relative can see what they are like in person. On tours, pay attention to how the environment makes you feel, how clean the facility is, and how friendly the staff are. Bring a list of questions with you about the services you’ll need, ratios of staff to residents, staff qualifications, policies for filing complaints, and anything else you need to know to make a decision. If you have more questions later, don’t hesitate to call or visit again.

After all this due diligence, you should be able to pick a facility that meets all of your needs and gives you confidence that it provides a safe, comfortable environment. However, even the best nursing home can have isolated cases of abuse or neglect, so don’t believe your work is over yet.

If you or a family member is moving into assisted living, make sure you keep in contact and plan for frequent visits together. Residents who are isolated from loved ones are more at risk for abuse. Family and friends can also help frail residents report abuse. You and your visitors should also learn signs of abuse. Sometimes it’s difficult even as a victim to recognize abusive behavior, so commit these common signs to memory:

• Untreated severe bedsores
• Unexplained injuries like bruises, burns, or scars
• Evidence of poor circulation like sunken cheeks or eyes
• Weight loss or malnourishment not due directly to an illness
• Frequent trips to the emergency room or doctor
• Wrong type or the wrong amount of medication administered
• Poor hygiene or unwashed clothes or hair
• Instances of wandering or elopement
• Frequently misplaced or lost personal items
• A lack of basic necessities, including utilities, water, and food
• A dirty room or bathroom
• Frequent trouble sleeping
• Unusual violent or withdrawn behavior
• Sudden depression or confusion
• Signs of trauma like rocking back and forth

If you or a loved one ever suspects or experiences abuse at a nursing home, follow the facility’s procedures for filing a complaint and contact a staff supervisor or the facility administrator. They should take your report seriously and act to immediately rectify the situation and prevent it from happening again. However, sometimes abuse stems from ineffective management, so if the administer is unwilling to address concerns or takes insufficient action, seek outside help from a doctor, a state agency, or your local long-term care ombudsman.

Unfortunately, nursing home abuse can cause serious harm, injury, and even death to vulnerable residents. If this is your experience, you may have a wrongful injury or death case that also requires legal help.