Warning Signs

Nursing Home Neglect & Abuse Warning Signs

WarningPart of being a responsible relative involves constantly monitoring your loved one’s care for red-flags. Here is a list of 20 things to be on the lookout for.  The sooner you can spot and hopefully correct these things, the sooner you can prevent your loved one from suffering and hopefully avoid the time and stress of getting involved in a lawsuit.  Some of these flags, especially those that related to the issues I write articles on and that appear in the menu, are also indicators that you need to get an attorney involved right away.  Here are the 20 things to watch:

  1. missing or nonworking hearing aids
  2. missing or broken eyeglasses
  3. missing, dirty, or broken dentures
  4. evidence of lack of personal grooming or dirty clothing
  5. development of new bowel or bladder incontinence that has not been evaluated
  6. poor foot and nail care
  7. evidence of meals being served cold, late, or not eaten
  8. decreased liquid intake
  9. development of skin breakdown over the back or heals (pressure ulcers)
  10. change in functional or mental status that occurs in a short period of time and has not been evaluated
  11. onset of new fevers and that have not been evaluated
  12. observed roughness or rudeness by the staff to any residents
  13. observing staff failing to respect privacy - not knocking on doors before entering, not drawing curtains closed
  14. observing long delays before call lights are answered
  15. lack of organized activities during the week
  16. smells or evidence of poor sanitation
  17. trash containers that are not being emptied
  18. multiple medication errors - either wrong dosing or wrong medications being given
  19. toilet procedures not being carried out as ordered
  20. restrained residents are not getting their restraints released every 2 hours
Posted by David Brauns on Apr 30th, 2009 and filed under Warning Signs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site

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