There are many factors to keep in mind when choosing the right nursing home for your loved one. Should you find one that’s located near your parent’s residence or near yours? Is my mom still independent or does she need nursing home care? As questions like these and many other come to mind a good place to start is by evaluating the quality of care in nursing homes you may be considering.
Many nursing homes participate in Medicaid and Medicare programs that are responsible for funding these nursing home care facilities in Chicago and nationwide.
Medicare has a 5-star rating system that evaluates nursing homes based on the quality of care they provide. Factors like inspection results and staffing levels and many others come into play to rank nursing homes accordingly. Anyone who is considering a nursing home for themselves or for a loved one should first look at how the nursing home in their chosen area ranks.
Problems such as understaffing can be revealed through these Medicare rankings. Know that understaffing is one of the major causes of nursing home neglect. Kaiser Health News recently reported 1400 nursing homes received lower rating due to shortages in staffing.
Gaps in understaffing have caused malnutrition or dehydration for elderly residents to the point where families have lost loved ones. Understaffing is also linked several other signs of neglect. Residents who have limited mobility are at a higher risk to develop bedsores and other infections that are likely to go untreated and turn into life-threatening conditions in understaffed facilities. Elderly residents are already at a higher risk to recover from common illnesses. Add a nursing home that doesn’t provide adequate care and serious harm can happen to a loved one.
While many caregivers mean well, they cannot realistically provide all the needed care for all residents if it’s their employer that’s cutting corners. Nursing homes make a deliberate choice to save expenses by not hiring the needed staff. When the staff-to-resident ratio is unbalanced, nursing home neglect in a Chicago facility or elsewhere becomes inevitable.
While we encourage everyone to stay informed about the nursing home facilities in Chicago or elsewhere where you and your loved one may get the best care, nursing home neglect can happen in any facility. If you or your loved one is hurt in a nursing home due to lacking care, know that there are options for you. Contact the Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys of Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. With over 50 years of combined experience, we have helped thousands of injured victims get justice and full and fair compensation at the time when they needed it the most. Reach our nursing home neglect lawyers in Chicago at 1-312-384-1920 or 1-800-693-1LAW, or by email.
