If you’ve made the difficult decision to place your loved one into a nursing home, then you have weighed the advantages and disadvantages, made financial considerations, while keeping in mind what’s best for your family member’s well-being. The same reasoning should be applied when contemplating whether they should remain in the nursing home you chose. With the Covid-19 pandemic happening, many children, spouses, and other relatives wonder whether they should bring their loved one home during these unprecedented times, especially if there are known cases at the facility. Before you take steps to make this move, there are several issues to think about. Here are four factors to consider.
- The Nursing Home’s Response to the Covid-19 Crisis
How is the facility dealing with the coronavirus? Is the place understaffed? What procedures are being done to ensure the safety of the residents? Are there cases already there and what is the facility doing to isolate those who have the virus? Do the members of the staff use adequate PPE (personal protective equipment)? Focus on the testing practices for both the staff and the residents to help determine what to do. Also, think about the ratio of staff to residents.
- The Type of Care that Your Loved One Needs
Are they self-sufficient? Does your loved one have mobility issues? Or dementia? Does the home have a staircase? You must consider whether your home can accommodate their physical needs, as well as their emotional ones. How will they react to being away from the facility? The type of care that your relative needs likely informed the decision to place them into the nursing home in the first place and their condition might have worsened.
- The Availability of Home Care During the Pandemic
It’s likely that you would have to rely upon home care as an alternative. Home-care options are different now that we’re experiencing a pandemic. Determine what constitutes necessary care at this time. The nurses, therapists, hospice attendants, personal aides and other home-care professionals must take social distancing precautions to an extent, but they must engage in a lot of self-monitoring with frequent temperature checks and watching out for other symptoms, such as coughs and shortness of breath.
- The Possibility of Your Loved One Returning to the Nursing Home
Many nursing home residents depend on Medicaid to help with their long-term health care costs. Leaving (even for a short time) may affect their eligibility. It’s important to know how a departure will affect their future and if they can easily return to the facility.
Contact a Nursing Home Lawyer Today
Before you move your loved one out of their nursing home, make sure that you have considered all aspects of the decision. If you’re concerned with your family member’s treatment at their current home and think that the facility is at fault, then you should express your concerns with a skilled and compassionate attorney. Whether they’ve been injured due to negligence or have suffered emotional problems due to abuse, your loved ones deserve better. Contact the lawyers at Walton Law, APC today for help.