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It would be great if we could automatically tell who was a good person and who was not, but we all know it doesn’t work that way. There’s no way to tell if someone is going to be a nursing home abuser or not, but there is a list of qualities that fit many nursing home abusers. Some of them involve personality and others involve circumstances. Look through these and keep them in mind next time you visit your loved one’s nursing home. • Experiencing financial problems • Becomes easily angered or frustrated • Treats residents with disrespect • Doesn’t follow procedures • Doesn’t like to be involved with family members • Avoids any extra care if they can get away with it • Doesn’t document all events in nursing home • Asks to work at night when not many people are around • Doesn’t like to work with other people who may observe abuse If you need help combating nursing home abuse, contact a skilled California DUI attorney for assistance and advice. If you or a loved on has questions regarding a nursing home abuse matter, please contact Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Michael Young for a FREE Consultation. Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Michael Young is a featured speaker at many nursing home abuse seminars throughout California. The Nursing Home Abuse Law Offices of Young and Wallin handles cases throughout California including Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbra, Fresno, Sacramento, Orange County, Bakersfield and Ventura.
Pain medications are supposed to be given appropriately, but can be withheld by an abuser so that the resident will comply with bribery. Once the pain gets bad, a resident may give in to the demands of the abuser just to get the medication needed to take away or decrease their level of pain. Food and water are two of life’s basic necessities, but they are not guaranteed for nursing home residents. Because many of these residents are confined to bed or unable to prepare their own meals, they rely on nursing home staff members to provide their food to them at regular intervals. A nursing home abuser may withhold food until a resident complies with the request of the abuser. Comfort is important for nursing home residents. Because elderly people often have a hard time keeping warm, nursing home abusers may choose to withhold blankets, robes, and other types of comfort items until the resident complies with what they have been told to do. If a resident does not comply, the abuser then continues to keep these items away from the resident. Activity periods and telephone usage are also important for nursing home residents. Activity periods allow residents to socialize with each other and to spend some time outside of the confines of their rooms. Telephone usage allows residents to keep in contact with friends and family members. If bribery is not complied with, the abuser may not allow residents to attend group activities or may take the telephone out of the resident’s room. If you feel that your loved one is being subjected to bribery at the hands of a nursing home staff member, contact a San Bernardino nursing home abuse attorney to find out how you can help. If you have questions or comments and have concerns about the care a loved on is receiving at a California nursing home facility please feel free to contact Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Michael Young for a FREE NURSING HOME ABUSE CONSULTATION on your nursing home abuse matter. The California Nursing Home Abuse Law Offices of Young and Wallin has offices throughout southern California to serve you including an elder abuse law office in Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino County. Mr. Young handles nursing home neglect cases throughout the state of California on a case by case basis.
Nursing home employees need to be on the lookout for slips and falls by residents due many factors affecting nursing home residents. One factor is that elderly people can be injured more easily due to brittle bones and the loss of balance as their ages climb. Confused residents may get out of bed and not realize where they are or how to get back to their rooms. This creates potentially dangerous situations for residents because they may slip or fall on hazards, wet floors, or just from losing their balance and falling on the floor. Because the residents can’t control the fact that their bones are brittle and that they may get confused and get out of bed, it is up to nursing home employees to watch out for slips and falls. This means keeping a careful watch on residents, keeping rooms and hallways clear of obstacles, making sure wet floors are cleaned up immediately, and keeping the safety of all residents in mind at all times. The problem is, busy nursing home employees often don’t think of this because they are busy with the medical and emotional needs of residents. They may get busy giving out medicines, taking vital signs, and keeping good records for each resident, so preventing slips and falls often takes a back seat to what is going on in the day to day running of the nursing home. If nursing home employees and administrators would concern themselves with preventing these slips and falls, they would take place less frequently and residents would have an improved level of overall safety. If you feel your loved one’s nursing home does not have the proper steps in place to prevent slips and falls, contact a San Bernardino nursing home abuse lawyer to see what you can do to make your loved one safer. If you have questions or comments and have concerns about the care a loved on is receiving at a California nursing home facility please feel free to contact Nursing Home Neglect Attorney Michael Young for a FREE NURSING HOME ABUSE CONSULTATION on your nursing home abuse matter. The California Nursing Home Abuse Law Offices of Young and Wallin has offices throughout southern California to serve you including an elder abuse law office in Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino County. Mr. Young handles nursing home neglect cases throughout the state of California on a case by case basis.
If someone finds that a loved one has been abused or neglected by a staff member in a nursing home facility, it stands to reason that the family members will immediately report the abuse. This isn’t always the case with nursing home abuse situations for a wide variety of reasons. One of the major reasons is that the loved one begs family members not to tell for fear of retaliation or because of shame. Abuse can often lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and worthlessness. Abused residents can also feel that the abuse is their fault because they did something wrong or didn’t do something that a staff member wanted them to do. Whatever the specific reasons, many residents prefer to leave the abuse in the past and try to move on with their futures. Family members may also fear retaliation if nursing home abuse is reported. Instead of exposing their loved one to more severe abuse, these family members choose to keep the abuse to themselves. Other family members may question if abuse really happened, especially if their loved one has dementia or other conditions that can cause confusion in elderly people. While no one would think a loved one was making up abuse, some people may question how abuse occurred if the stories told by loved ones don’t match up with other circumstances. Not reporting abuse just allows it to continue and doesn’t do anyone any good, so please report nursing home abuse if you know it is happening. If you need help with finding more information on reporting nursing home abuse, contact a California nursing home abuse lawyer for more information on how to proceed. The Nursing Home Neglect Law Offices of Young and Wallin provides free consultations to all those in need. If you suspect a loved one may be the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse contact Mr. Young immediately to explore your options and preserve your rights. Elder Abuse Attorney Michael Young handles cases throughout California including Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego, as well as nursing home abuse cases in Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Bernardino. Mr. Young is also will and able to handle nursing home neglect cases in Northern California including San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.
Most nursing home staff members do not set out to be abusive or neglectful. Some nursing homes are understaffed and staff members become overwhelmed by having to care for a great number of patients. Sometimes their frustration turns into neglect as they try to meet the demands of their jobs without becoming exhausted. These staff members may neglect to give some residents a bath one day or help other residents with their exercises another day until the neglect becomes more frequent. Other staff members turn to neglect because they don’t want to care for the residents or they’d rather spend their time doing something else. These are the most dangerous abusers because their neglect is intentional. If you need to report abuse of a nursing home resident, there are several options. You can directly contact nursing home administrators to report an abusive staff member. There are also nursing home abuse hotlines where you can anonymously report abuse if you are afraid speaking with a nursing home administrator will result in retaliation against your loved one. If the care of the neglected resident is being paid for with state medical aid, you can also report the nursing home to Medi-Cal. Contacting a Riverside nursing home abuse lawyer should be the first thing you do once the abuse is reported. Speaking with an experienced San Diego nursing home abuse attorney can help you to document your case while it is fresh in your mind so that you have the best chances for a positive outcome.
Nursing home inspections, depending on the inspecting agency, can also uncover improper medical care on the part of nurses and other staff members. Medical professionals must keep records of everything done for each patient including medication administered, medical procedures performed, mental status of the patient, and other information that helps keep track of the medical and mental health of each resident.
Continue reading "Home Inspections Can Uncover Improper Medical Care & Lack of Training" »
Nursing home inspections, depending on the inspecting agency, can also uncover improper medical care on the part of nurses and other staff members. Medical professionals must keep records of everything done for each patient including medication administered, medical procedures performed, mental status of the patient, and other information that helps keep track of the medical and mental health of each resident.
Continue reading "Home Inspections Can Uncover Improper Medical Care & Lack of Training" »
Nursing home inspections can uncover a number of safety hazards that may cause serious injuries to residents and even staff members. A nursing home that has crowded hallways may have many fire hazards like blocked exits, not enough room to escape a fire, or flammable materials that are not properly contained and monitored.
Continue reading "Watch Out for Safety Hazards That are Common in Nursing Homes" »
There are many causes of infection in nursing homes where neglect occurs. Most of these causes involve residents not getting the right medications or the hygiene care needed to keep infection at bay. Some of the major causes of infections due to nursing home neglect are
Continue reading "How Abuse and Neglect Lead to Infections in Nursing Home Residents" »
During the past year, several California nursing homes have been cited for medicating residents without adequate documented need or consent, over-medicating nursing home residents and for harmful medicine errors. One parent company of approximately 27 nursing homes throughout California was fined $18,000, in May of 2006, for medical errors leading to hospitalization.
As Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Neglect Attorneys, we at the Young & Wallin Law Firm remain concerned about the numbers of reported and unreported medical errors in California nursing homes. Last year, a report from the Institute of Medicine estimated that more than 800,000 injuries and deaths in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are caused by medication errors. It's unsettling to know that the health and safety of over 110,000 elderly residents in California nursing homes are at such high risk of injury from medication errors.
Continue reading "Medication Errors Cause Alarming Number of Adverse Drug Events in Nursing Homes" »
Pursuant to the Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA), of OBRA 1987, elderly nursing home residents maintain the right to be free from physical, mechanical, or chemical restraints that may restrict movement or normal access to their own body, or from restraints that are not required to treat the resident's medical symptoms, but are used simply for purposes of discipline or convenience.
As Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers, we, at Young & Wallin, find the practice of using restraints inappropriately in nursing homes quite concerning. The misuse of restraints places elderly nursing home patients in jeopardy of becoming victims of nursing home abuse, neglect, abandonment, and isolation.
Historically, restraining elderly nursing home patients was perceived to prevent falls and injuries. Contrary to those perceptions, research has clearly shown that residents of nursing homes with a high rate of restraint usage experience many adverse events, such as:
More Severe Fall-Related Injuries
Decreased Mobility Abilities
Pressure Sores or Ulcers
Depression
Aggression
Impaired Cognitive Performance
Impaired Social Engagement
Death
Continue reading "Restraints in Nursing Homes: Potentially Harmful, Yet Still Used" »
Nursing homes continue to struggle with the same quality issues that led to Federal Legislation twenty years ago which make it just as difficult for those families today seeking long term care for their loved ones. As a Nursing Home Abuse Attorney I am finding more and more areas in which nursing homes are struggling with quality of care issues.
Continue reading "Is Nursing Home Quality of Care Improving?" »
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