A nursing home resident counts on the staff members at the facility to help them take care of their needs. These vary from one person to another because of the various conditions and abilities that can lead to a person needing to live in a nursing home. Severe issues can occur if the residents aren’t cared for in the manner they should be.
There are several things that can signal that a loved one is being mistreated in a nursing home. While not all of these will be present in all cases, you might notice at least one, which should be a signal that you need to dig deeper to find out what’s going on.
- Frequent or unexplained injuries: While things like falls might be fairly common in nursing homes, they shouldn’t be. Injuries from this cause, as well as others, signal that proper protocol might not be followed at the facility.
- Improper personal hygiene: Nursing home residents might need help with toileting, bathing, dressing and other hygiene measures. Not having these needs met, which can include wearing clothing that isn’t appropriate for the current conditions, can be a sign of neglect.
- Unclean conditions: Federal laws establish the sanitation requirements for these facilities. If the nursing home isn’t clean, you can likely assume that the staff members aren’t meeting residents’ needs.
- Malnutrition and dehydration: Monitoring residents is a part of what nursing home staff members should do. Suffering from malnutrition or dehydration can lead to serious health issues, so catching these early is important.
It’s possible that the lack of appropriate care is actually nursing home neglect, and this is a matter that should be addressed swiftly. Your loved one might need to take legal action, which is possible if they’ve suffered damages due to the negligence.
