Abuse in nursing homes and other senior assistance facilities is often missed by families and overlooked by other visitors. Abuse in the form of neglect is the most common and can affect many areas of care.
Staff, physicians and nurses can be neglectful of patients' and residents' personal hygiene, basic needs, medical needs or their emotional needs.
For families struggling to find a good long-term care facility for their beloved senior family members, the search can sometimes lead to multiple moves to new facilities after the first fail to meet expectations. This frequent moving can be extremely hard on seniors and many times information gets lost along the way.
Some families have horror stories of how the staff of how a former assisted living home failed to send along medical information such as daily prescription plans, incomplete medical histories and treatment plans. This can be compounded when staff at the new facility fail to ask needed questions about these missing pieces and simply let the problems work themselves out. The result of such dropped balls can be nursing home negligence.
Moving frequently can be a huge cause of stress for seniors. Feelings of loneliness, neglect and abandonment can lead to psychological problems and can even manifest itself in physical ways.
How To Avoid Moving-Related Problems
Firstly, try to do your research on the facility you are choosing for your loved one, if you can. Many moves are prompted by medical emergencies, which leaves little time for you to research potential homes.
Look for facilities with educated, well-trained staff who are emotionally in tune with their patients. Try to find families like yours who have gone through the same ordeal and find out what they have to say about particular facilities.
When multiple moves are necessary, Dr. Malaz Boustani of the Healthy Aging Brain Center recommends appointing a family member or hiring a transition coach to supervise the moving process.
This person could go along with their loved one to all medical appointments to supervise the exchange of information from one facility to another. The transition coach can then communicate any specific wishes they have concerning long-term care.
Dr. Boustani also recommends not being afraid to approach facilities' staff when problems arise. You are paying them to take care of your family member and can expect them to meet certain expectations.
