Families with elderly relatives sometimes must make the decision to send their loved ones to a nursing home to best ensure their care. This is often difficult no matter who you are, and if you suspect possible nursing home abuse, it is important that you move swiftly. The following tips from the legal team at Peter Davis & Associates, a Paterson-based personal injury firm, can help you to find the right place for your elderly. When action must be taken, however, you should call a nursing home abuse lawyer right away.
How is the Location?
Location is everything when it comes to easy access to your loved ones. Not only will longer distances make travel that much more cumbersome, but it can also even strain the relationships themselves. When it comes to the threat of possible nursing home abuse, you should be close by to keep an eye on your relatives.
How is the Rating?
Nursing homes are required by law to undergo regular checkups and inspections, and all results are available free to the public. Not only that, these ratings should be posted clearly at each nursing home facility, and if you do not see it upon visitation, ask for it. Sometimes these reviews can get quite negative, and you should obviously do your best to avoid any nursing home with negative scores in treatment and care.
Questions to Ask Administration
There are some questions that you need to ask administrators of all potential nursing homes. For example, you should know the kinds of services that the nursing home provides and how often nurses and other staff members spend with the residents. Along those same lines, what is the staff turnover ratio and are they qualified to deal with special needs and other debilitating illnesses?
You will want to know as much about the facility as possible before even considering committing your loved ones.
Double Check the Diet
You always want to make sure that your relative’s dietary needs are satisfied. This often involves checking in with a dietitian personally to learn more about the kinds of meals offered. If accommodations need to be made, check the possibility of that first.
Ask the Residents
When in doubt, ask the residents of potential nursing homes what they think of the facility and if they would recommend it or not. Of course, you run the risk of coaxed or insincere answers, but it never hurts to see if the residents themselves seem happy or not. You should also be sure to find out information from them on their daily routines and relative freedoms. These are possibly your loved one’s future neighbors, after all.
Contact a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
The moment you suspect nursing home abuse, you should contact a lawyer. At the very least, a good consultation can help you figure out your next course of action or allay fears.
For anyone living in the Paterson, New Jersey area, such a lawyer is but a short drive away. Peter Davis & Associates has been handling personal injury claims for many years, and we can help guide you through the awful world of nursing home abuse. Contact one of our representatives today should you have any further questions.