As your parents and loved ones age, they require more care. Health risks, fall risks, hygiene, mobility, and proper diet are just a few areas where they may struggle. Unfortunately, not everyone is equipped to be a caretaker. Whether due to work, your own physical health, or any number of reasons, it may be best for your loved ones to find care in a long-term facility. When the time comes, you want to ensure your elderly family members are well cared for.
Choosing a nursing home can be overwhelming, and the statistics around elderly abuse make it downright frightening. You are placing trust in the staff we choose to care for our loved ones, and we want to ensure they will not break it. However, protecting our elders goes beyond simply choosing a nursing home. By staying active in their lives and care, we can ensure they are happy and healthy until the end of their days.
Tips for Choosing Nursing Homes
The first steps in choosing a nursing home are selecting a general location and figuring out your budget. If you went online and typed ‘nursing homes in the US,’ it would take ages to preen through them all. Narrowing down to a region first will reduce the number of results, and knowing what you can afford will spare you time looking into nursing homes that won’t work out. Choosing a nursing home is a multi-faceted process. You want to look into reviews from residents and families, explore the amenities and care options, and speak with the staff and management to get a feel for any facility.
You should never feel pressured to select a nursing home. If the staff is too pushy for your tastes, move on. If you feel they don’t really care, move on. If anything makes you uncomfortable, move on. Nursing home shopping is not uncommon, as families like to compare different programs and facilities to find the best fit for their loved ones.
Another idea is to search local news coverage for facilities. If any of them have been in the news—for reasons good or bad —you can learn more about them through the coverage. If a lot of negative coverage is hovering around a facility and no management changes have occurred, you know that facility isn’t the right one.
Monitoring Your Loved One’s Care
The best thing you can do to protect your loved one is to keep in contact. Visit and call them to check in, check on their health, and speak with staff about their care. Nursing home abuse can include neglect and malicious behavior. By keeping on top of your loved one’s health and care, you can help ensure they receive attention when needed. Additionally, you can watch for warning signs of neglect or abuse, including:
- Bedsores or pressure ulcers
- Broken Bones
- Bruises
- Burns
- Cuts or lacerations
- Dehydration
- Dental injuries
- Facial injuries
- Infections
- Malnutrition
- Sepsis or Septic Shock
- Unexplained development of STDs
While these may not be from abuse, they are worth analyzing. Some, like sepsis, can set in suddenly and despite the best care. But if even a sliver of doubt exists, you should have a plan for investigating the possibility of abuse.
What to Do if You Suspect Abuse
While you may be doing your best to protect your loved ones, please do not feel guilty if you begin to suspect abuse. Rather, you should have a plan in place on how to handle the suspicion. The first step should be to express your concerns to someone in charge. You may find the issue easily resolved and your concerns put to rest. If not, it’s time to contact Adult Protective Services. This national agency is designed to protect adults from abusive and negligent situations. They will perform a thorough, objective investigation and report back to you. If they find evidence of abuse, they will work with you to take the nursing home staff responsible to court. If they do not find enough evidence for a criminal case, or if you wish to seek damages on top of the criminal case, then you will need to investigate a personal injury lawsuit. For this, you want to hire a nursing home abuse lawyer.
Finding a Personal Injury Lawyer for Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing homes tend to some of our most vulnerable family members. If your loved one has suffered abuse or negligence at the hands of those meant to care for them, then you need to retain a personal injury lawyer familiar with nursing home abuse and hold the nursing home staff accountable. A lawyer will work with you to obtain all the necessary documentation, file paperwork, calculate damages and compensation, and will represent you in either a settlement or trial. An experienced lawyer can help ensure that your loved ones are compensated for the harm done to them and that all costs are covered. They will not charge you until you win, and they include their fees in the compensation calculations.
Alternatives for Nursing Homes
Not all elderly wind up in nursing homes. Some move to residential retirement areas, where they can remain more independent but still have staff around to check in with them and help them with various tasks. An option for healthy and independent seniors is to go on cruise ships. They can enjoy their days with various amenities, won’t have to cook, and can see the world. However, cruise staff are not medical professionals or caretakers; if your loved one struggles caring for themselves, it’s time to return to port.
Another alternative is in-home care. If your home life isn’t too chaotic, you can have caretakers come and tend to your loved ones’ needs in your home. Or, if they live nearby and wish to remain independent, the caretaker can go to their home. You want to ensure a relative you trust live nearby if you do not, so you can monitor your loved one’s health and ensure their caretaker is providing the best care.
