What You Need to Know About Nursing Home Hospice Care
A nursing home provides elderly residents with the safety and security they need when dealing with ongoing medical conditions. Many nursing homes also include hospice care, which helps maximize residents’ quality of life. Find out what nursing home hospice care is, how some hospice care patients may be the victim of nursing home abuse, and what you can do to keep your loved one safe.
What is Hospice Care?
Hospice is designed to maximize the quality of the end of a patient’s life. Many nursing homes have departments dedicated to hospice, which often include medical staff and specially trained resident caregivers. Hospice care is an extra level of support for the family, helping deal with pain, care planning, the costs of medical care, and even grief support.
How is Hospice Care Related to Nursing Home Abuse?
Nursing homes may have their own hospice staff or contract a company to outsource the services. Hospice nursing home abuse may be in the form of physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, or even neglect. Hospice care workers may be undertrained or understaffed, contributing to their lack of proper care of residents.
The abuse or neglect of hospice caregivers can shorten a patient’s life, taking away valuable time they still have left with their family. Your loved one deserves good care, regardless of their condition. Neglect is all too common when hospice care is ordered, which is a problem since hospice is designed to maximize the comfort of your loved one.
How to Keep Your Loved One in Hospice Safe
There are things that you can do to ensure quality care for your loved one, including:
- Get to know their caregivers: Get to know your loved one’s caregivers so that you can be actively involved in their treatment.
- Visit frequently: When you visit your loved one frequently, they’re less likely to be neglected.
- Look out for other residents: Looking out for other residents who may not have family that frequently visit can help keep others safe.
- Report suspicions of abuse or neglect as soon as possible: Report any suspicions of nursing home abuse or neglect as soon as possible.
You can report your suspicions of nursing home abuse or neglect to the local authorities, adult protective services, the nursing home ombudsmen, or a nursing home abuse lawyer.
Why You May Need a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
Many families think they cannot afford hospice care. There are many programs available to cover this important service, including Medicare, VA benefits, private insurance, and charitable organizations. A nursing home lawyer may be useful if your insurance provider denies hospice coverage that should be included in your policy.
A nursing home abuse lawyer may also be beneficial if your loved one is treated wrongly while in a nursing home. Nursing home abuse and neglect come with many costs, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and moving costs. A nursing home abuse lawyer may help you recover these costs. Filing a lawsuit against the responsible nursing home or caregiver also brings light to an important issue that can improve the safety and security of the nursing home for everyone.
Contact a Hillsborough Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer to Discuss Your Case Today
Seniors in nursing homes and other care facilities deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Additionally, nursing home staff needs to ensure that patients are safe and secure at all times. If your loved one suffered an injury, or worse, due to nursing home negligence or abuse in New Jersey, you need to speak with a qualified attorney. The experienced nursing home neglect attorneys at Sugarman Law Firm represent clients throughout New Jersey, including Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth. Call (732) 877-1975 or fill out the online contact form to schedule a free consultation today. We have an office conveniently located at 80 East Main Street, Somerville, NJ 08876, as well as an office in Marlton, NJ.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.
