Wyoming residents may go back and forth before deciding to place an elderly loved one in a nursing home. In the end, many decide that professional, round-the-clock care would likely benefit their loved one more than the family trying to provide care for which they may lack the time and skill to handle properly. You may have faced a similar situation and found a residence where you thought your loved one would receive necessary care and attention.
If, like many others, you have been unable to visit your loved one over the last year due to health and safety concerns surrounding the pandemic, you may have felt guilty and concerned because you could not check that you loved one was still receiving the care he or she needed. If you recently found that your loved one’s care was not up to par, you likely are not alone.
Nursing home neglect
Unfortunately, nursing homes often face serious issues with understaffing. Commonly, there are too few staff members to address the needs of all the patients in the nursing home. Too often, this means that the needs of many, if not all, residents fall to the wayside, and some may suffer serious harm as a result.
In a recent article regarding nursing home neglect, one woman gave her account of such a harrowing experience. Before the pandemic, she would visit her mother daily to help with feeding and bathing needs. During the pandemic, she had to use video calls to remain in contact with her mother. During those calls, she noticed that her mother was lackluster and lethargic.
One day, nurses could not wake her mother for their scheduled call. After the woman convinced staff members to call emergency services, doctors found that her mother was underweight, dehydrated and had an infected bedsore. Sadly, her mother passed away not long after.
Nurses see the issues
Unfortunately, nurses also see that problems exist in these facilities and feel as if there is little they can do. In the same article, one nurse stated that nurses are often working with double the number of residents that they should be working with, which means giving each patient the minimum amount of time possible for feeding and hygiene procedures and having to move on if patients are not compliant with feeding, bathing or oral hygiene.
Still, if your loved one suffered injuries, illness or even death as the result of nursing home neglect, you have options for holding the liable parties accountable for the harm or loss. Gaining information on your legal rights and the recourse available to you may prove useful.
