Protecting Your Family and Loved Ones From Nursing Home Abuse

Preventing your mother, father and other family members from nursing home neglect and abuse should not be your job. You should be able to trust that your community’s nursing homes will keep its promises to provide good care that complies with the law. There are steps you can take even before admitting your family member to a nursing home to protect them and stop nursing home neglect before it starts:

Research the Nursing Home – There is publically available information you can access to check the nursing home’s safety record and how it compares with other facilities in your area. Helpful websites include:

• www.medicare.gov (Nursing Home Compare);
• www.NJ.gov/ooie/ (New Jersey Office of the Ombudsman); and
• http://web.doh.state.nj.us/apps/healthfacilities/fsSearch.espx
  (New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services).

These websites include valuable information regarding the nursing home’s ownership, facility size, the nursing home’s compliance with resident safety regulations and records of resident/family complaints.

Tour the Nursing Home – Touring the nursing home before admitting your family member and speaking with staff that will be responsible for your loved one’s care is an important part of determining whether the facility is the “right place” for your family. Simply put, your eyes and ears don’t lie. Speak with the Nursing Home Administrator, they should be more than willing to answer your questions about staff to resident ratio, the staff’s specific training to care for the elderly, whether the nursing home can meet your loved one’s needs (e.g. dementia, physical therapy, nutrition), and the facility’s record for resident care violations on yearly State inspections.

Speak with Your Family’s Doctors and Caregivers – While gathering the information about the nursing homes you are considering, speak with your family member’s doctors, visiting nurses and other caregivers. They will make sure you know your loved one’s needs and often have specific information about local nursing homes.

• Neglect and Abuse
• Pressure Ulcers
• Malnutrition
• Falls & Broken Bones
• Malnutrition/Dehydration
• Unexplained Injuries
• Fractured Hip/Femur
• Unsanitary Conditions
• Verbal/Physical Abuse

These injuries are signs of nursing home abuse and neglect – that the nursing home is not providing proper care, is not following the law and is violating the resident’s rights. When this occurs you have the right to speak with those in charge of your loved one’s care, complain to them and demand that they do better. You can also file Complaints with the New Jersey Department of Health and the New Jersey Ombudsman’s Office so it can conduct a full investigation. These agencies’ duty is to help protect the elderly.

Sugarman Law and its nursing home litigation team represent nursing home neglect victims and their families – every day. We obtain compensation for those who suffer injuries and death from nursing home neglect and abuse.

If you believe that a family member has been injured by nursing home neglect or abuse, please fill out the contact form or call Sugarman Law at 866-657-5660.

Disclaimer: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court. Years listed and methodology for inclusion.