Memphis Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys Share Subtle Signs of Neglect to Watch Out For

During the holiday season, many people who have elderly relatives living in nursing homes visit with their relatives. Visits from friends and family are always welcomed by nursing home residents, especially during a season which is so focused on family and celebration. While you are visiting with your relative at their nursing home this holiday season, it is important that you also take time to assess their overall well-being and ensure that they are being cared for properly.

Nursing home residents have little contact with the outside world, except for when family and friends visit them. If caregivers are neglecting or abusing a nursing home resident, they have little defense and little opportunity for recourse. Some of them are not able to speak up and tell their family about what is going on because of physical or mental limitations. Fortunately, some of them are able to inform their visitors that something is wrong. For these reasons, it is important that people who visit their relatives in nursing homes at any time of year take the opportunity to check up on the quality of their care.

One thing that you might encounter during a visit with your elderly relative is that they may ask you for food or water. This is not always a sign that something is wrong, but it is something that you may want to investigate further to determine whether they are simply confused and think that you are one of the nursing home staff or whether they are not receiving adequate nutrition and hydration. In order to determine what is going on, locate a staff member and ask them whether it is almost meal time. The answer that you receive can help you to understand what is going on, and a negative reaction from a staff member may be a sign that something is amiss, perhaps a delayed meal due to understaffing or a meal that has been forgotten altogether.

Understaffing is another issue that you may be able to observe during your visit. For example, you may notice that the nursing home staff seems to be rushing about, as if they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. It is possible that they are trying to care for too many residents at once, which can result in a level of care that is not adequate to meet the needs of the residents who are in their care. If staff members come into the room to care for your relative, notice how they interact with them, as well as how your relative responds to their presence.

Perhaps the biggest indicator of the level of care that your relative is receiving in the nursing home is their appearance and demeanor. Things like sudden weight loss, bedsores, unexplained cuts, bruises, or lacerations, an unclean room or dirty clothes can all indicate a lack of adequate care. If you see things that don’t seem right or don’t make sense, ask someone who works at the nursing home about it. As with the other issues discussed above, the response from nursing home staff matters just as much as whatever it is that you have noticed.

If believe that your loved one could be experiencing abuse or neglect in a nursing home, contact a Tennessee Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney right away. The Memphis Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC, are here to help you. Call 901-680-9777 to discuss your case with us.