It can be difficult choosing the right nursing home for your loved ones. You should seek information about previous safety violations and nursing home ratings and reputation before making a decision. With that said, recent reports suggest that the information you find online may sometimes be misleading, incorrect, or incomplete. Moreover, it is not possible to identify whether a certain facility will pose any risks to the residents in the future – simply by looking at its history. Reputable nursing homes with excellent past records have been known to place elderly residents at the risk of life-threatening injuries. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore their safety track record. Instead, on top of regular checks, you should look out for the following red flags when it comes to nursing homes. This should help you find a safe and dependable nursing facility for your elderly loved ones in California. Red Flag 1: High rate of Covid-19 deaths and infections Nursing homes with a high percentage of Covid-19 infections and deaths may not be taking the life and health needs of their residents seriously. They may not want to pay for proper disinfection and sanitization measures. They may be failing at infection control measures and implementing safety protocols. They may not even ensure that their staff members are fully vaccinated. Red Flag 2: Uncleanliness or odors The facility may be understaffed if there are foul odors at the nursing facility, such as the smell of urine. Residents may not be receiving adequate assistance or care with their daily activities. Unclean facilities and rooms should get the warning bells ringing inside your head. Red Flag 3: Poor response times Another sign of an understaffed facility is when residents don’t receive quick care when they seek help or press the call button. Many elderly homes indulge in understaffing to cut corners and increase their profits. This can cause injuries as a result from passive neglect. Friends and family members should take slow response times seriously when it comes to seniors. Red Flag 4: High turnover rates The quality of care at the facility is probably not good when the nursing facility has a high turnover rate and unhappy employees. In general, businesses that provide their employees with safe and good working conditions don’t lose those employees in droves. The nursing home may not be compensating its staff members adequately. They may not be providing industry standards for incentives. You need to understand that unhappy employees perform their tasks grudgingly. This may reflect poorly on your loved one when they are stationed at the facility. Red Flag 5: Lack of activity There is something wrong if most residents are in their rooms during the day for the entire time. Few or no activities for the residents will adversely impact their quality of life. Chances are that the nursing home team may not be taking care of the residents in other ways too. Red Flag 6: History of violations and complaints Nursing home neglect and abuse has a higher chance of reoccurring in facilities that have an established history of such complaints. Record of an abuse and neglect should be a strong indicator for you to continue your search for another facility. Contact a California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Today Seek advice from a skilled attorney at Walton Law, A.P.C. if you have concerns regarding a loved one in a nursing home. To set up a complimentary consultation, call (866) 338-7079 or reach us online.
6 Red Flags to Watch Out For in California Nursing Homes