Alden Wentworth Nursing Rehab Center Negligence Attorneys

You’ll feel more at ease if you can place your loved one in a highly rated nursing home. You can find one with some easy internet searches. Government websites like medicare.gov publish health inspection ratings and formal complaints for nursing homes, and you can look for online reviews of facilities posted by current or previous residents and their families. Even a simple Google search can show you if a facility has been in the news–for good or bad–in recent years.

When you’ve found some promising facilities, always schedule tours so you can see them for yourself. You’ll want to pay attention to cleanliness and how staff interact with residents. Bring questions to ask about the services that apply to your relative and about established protocols if any wrongdoing by staff is discovered.

After your loved one moves into your selected nursing home, visit frequently so you can observe their living conditions and establish that your family member has someone checking in on them. It is important for frail senior citizens to have a trusted person outside of the facility that they can disclose mistreatment to.

However, many victims of abuse cannot or will not report hurtful behavior, so you should be assessing your loved one’s physical and emotional state yourself. Abuse reveals itself in many ways. Here are just a few signs to look for:

• 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 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• Unusual violent or withdrawn behavior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 observe any mistreatment of a loved one or signs of harm, take immediate action to report it and prevent future incidents.

It helps to have documentation of what you’ve seen, whether that’s photos, video, or just notes. Take your findings to the facility’s management and explain what you’ve experienced. They should hear you out and take immediate action to investigate and rectify the situation. Unfortunately, the problems at nursing homes often originate with management. If they react to your claims dismissively or defensively or fail to take effective action, it may be time to consult the law.