What red flags should you watch for in a nursing home?

If your parent isn’t able to function independently on a daily basis, you might be in the process of helping him or her transition to ’round-the-clock nursing care. It can be an emotional time for everyone involved, especially if your loved one shows signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Perhaps you wish you could be the one to provide daily care but know it’s not possible because you have family and work obligations of your own. Finding a South Carolina nursing home to fit your needs can be challenging.

Issues such as whether your parent is mobile or bedridden may influence your choice of a nursing home. It’s understandable that you’d want to visit numerous facilities, paying close attention to staff members, as well as what types of care and activities they provide on a daily basis. Of course, your loved one’s financial situation also plays a part in which nursing facilities are available.

Issues that are cause for concern in any nursing home

In a perfect world, you could move your loved one into any nursing home in the state, and he or she would receive the highest quality care at all times. In reality, some nursing homes are better than others, and some are downright awful. The last thing you want is for your loved one to suffer illness or injury at the hands of care providers. The following list includes issues that suggest substandard care may be a problem in a particular nursing home:

• Your loved one or other residents appear unkempt.
• You feel like staff members are rude or contrary when you ask a question.
• There have been formal complaints filed against the facility or citations issued for safety or care violations.
• Your loved one has unexplained injuries.

If your instincts are telling you that something isn’t right regarding quality of care in the nursing home where your loved one resides, it’s always best to further investigate the matter. Administrators and staff members should willingly provide information or answer any questions you might have, especially concerning the health and safety of your mother or father.

If you believe your loved one has suffered injury because of negligence

Perhaps your loved one’s medical records and care instructions specify that he or she is never unsupervised in a hallway or any location out of bed. One of the first questions to ask if your loved one suffers injury after falling out of a wheelchair or similar circumstances is who was supervising at the time? If you discover that your parent was alone, it is evidence of negligence.

Any illness or injury your loved one suffers that you believe was the result of substandard care is a matter than can be brought to the attention of a civil court. Acting swiftly in response to evidence of negligence may help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future and may even save your loved one’s life.