Heritage Health Hoopeston

Picking a nursing home facility with a proven history of high-quality care is the best way to protect yourself or a loved one from nursing home abuse. Facilities who demonstrate responsible staffing practices and good health care can usually be assumed to have an environment of attentive, compassionate, and dignified care for vulnerable residents as well as appropriate procedures for reporting and correcting any deficiencies in care.

To find such a nursing home, start by looking at the available facilities in your area. You can ask friends and acquaintances, doctors, or social workers for recommendations, or look them up online. There may also be community authorities or groups who can help you, such as your local senior and community activity center or a government program that supports senior citizens.

Once you are aware of your local facilities, research each one so you can compare them in detail. Do this by looking at the ratings and inspection reports on medicare.gov and by searching for resident reviews or news stories about each facility online. Additionally, you can try calling your local long-term care ombudsman, state health department, or state licensing agency and ask if they have information on the facilities you’re researching.

Don’t rely solely on nursing homes’ websites to inform your research. These company websites can help you learn more about the services and amenities each facility offers and give you their location and contact information, but every facility is going to advertise itself as “the best” choice and fail to mention its flaws. Rely on unbiased resources to tell you how good a facility really is at making good on its promises of being “the best.”

When you’ve narrowed down your list of prospective nursing homes to the most promising few, schedule tours with them so you and/or a trusted relative can see what they are like in person. While touring, note how the environment makes you feel, how clean the facility is, and how friendly the staff appear. It’s a good idea to 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 that is important to you. And if you find you have more questions later, don’t hesitate to call or visit again.

Hopefully after all of this research you will be able to confidently pick a facility that meets all of your needs in a safe, comfortable environment. However, keep in mind that even the best nursing home can still have isolated cases of abuse or neglect, so don’t plan on letting your guard down completely.

When you or a family member moves into assisted living, plan to stay in close contact and have frequent visits. Residents who are isolated from loved ones are more at risk for abuse and may struggle to report abuse without outside help. Both residents and loved ones should learn to identify the signs of neglect and abuse so you can report it. There are many signs, but these are the most common:

• 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, take action immediately. Follow the facility’s procedures for filing a complaint and contact someone with authority such as a staff supervisor or the facility administrator. They should listen to you and take prompt action to rectify the situation and prevent it from happening again.

However, sometimes ineffective management is at the root of nursing home abuse, so if the administrator fails to take your report seriously or fix the situation, you should seek outside help from a doctor, a state agency, or your local long-term care ombudsman.

Tragically, nursing home abuse can cause serious harm, injury, and even death to vulnerable residents. If this is your experience, you should consider seeking legal counsel.