Making Sure Your Loved One is Happy at a Nursing Home

Nursing home abuse and neglect is still a frequent problem today, but there are ways to keep your loved ones away from the improper conduct and negligence of staff members. While you may not be able to care for elderly loved ones yourself, you can still visit them at a nursing facility regularly and make sure their living situations are of the best quality possible. Aside from making frequent visits once a resident lives in a home, you can also make sure you choose the right living situation from the start.

Do Your Research

There are many tools available to help you decide which nursing homes are good and which you should avoid. Medicare’s website has made it easy to see the current quality of a nursing home based on a rating scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 being the highest quality. You can also look for news stories online about recent nursing home cases in your state, as they will mention the nursing home in which the abuse or neglect took place. Nursing home abuse attorneys are available for victims of abuse and neglect, helping their families to receive the compensation they deserve.

Tour the Facility

After reviewing a facility’s background, take a tour of the home to make sure it provides a seemingly adequate environment for its residents. Watch for any signs of abuse or negligence, keeping a close eye on nursing aides’ behavior. If a facility looks as though it isn’t properly maintained—with wall cracks, lack of sprinklers or other deficiencies apparent—you may want to stay clear or continue to research the facility’s past. If you still trust the nursing home and your loved one winds up injured as a result of negligence or abuse, you can use the observations you gathered during a tour to help build a case with a nursing home lawyer.

Check on Residents

Once you’ve chosen a facility that you believe will make your loved ones happy, check up on them from time to time. The quality of a nursing home’s environment may drop if new irresponsible staff is hired or if other administrative duties fail, so it’s important to keep a close eye on residents to observe their living conditions. If you notice declining mental or physical health in any way, including personality changes or visible bruises, it may be a sign of abuse or neglect and should be examined more closely. If you discover inadequate treatment is administered to residents, nursing home abuse lawyers will help determine whether or not a lawsuit is possible.

For more information about nursing homes in Illinois, visit our website.