Nursing Home Care Houston – The quality of nursing home care, both in Houston, Texas and throughout the United States, can vary widely from facility to facility. In a perfect world, reasonable standards would be followed to the letter by highly trained professionals who had only the best interests of their residents at heart. Unfortunately, as nursing home abuse attorneys Marian Rosen and her law partner, Angela Spears, can attest, ours is not a perfect world. While nothing you do can guarantee that nothing will go wrong, there are things you can do to help.
What You Can Do to Monitor the Care of Your Loved One
By taking some of the following measures to monitor the care of your elderly loved one, you are not only providing yourself with invaluable peace of mind, but you are also sending the message to the nursing home staff that negligence and poor treatment of your family member will not be tolerated:
Visit often: By visiting your loved one often, you will be able to detect sudden changes in his or her behavior and manner, as opposed to gradual changes that result from infirmity or the passage of time. Sudden changes in habits and personality are often warning signs that something may be happening, maybe even nursing home abuse or neglect. Likewise, by visiting often, you will keep the nursing home staff “on its toes,” knowing that your loved one will frequently have company checking in on her or him.
Visit at different times of the day and night: Don’t limit your visits to a single time of day. By visiting at different times, you will be able to monitor the treatment of your loved one by different employees with different schedules. You’ll also send a message that there is no “safe time” for employees of the nursing home to be lax in their responsibilities.
Don’t adhere to a schedule: While it may be convenient for you to visit “every other Monday,” for example, being predictable in your schedule can lead to your loved one receiving attentive care only around your visits. Mix things up; let the employees know that you could show up at any time, any day of the week.
Complain when you see something wrong: Know who is in charge, and be vocal when you see something wrong, no matter how minor it may seem.
Get to know the staff and caregivers and learn their names: When these employees see you and your loved one as acquaintances as opposed to simply residents, they will be more likely to do their best on your behalf. Likewise, you will be able to be specific in the event that problems arise.
Take photos or video with your cell phone to show administrator or director of nursing: Pictures are worth multiple thousands of words, especially when it comes to demonstrating the conditions in which your loved one is living. As long as you are careful not to violate the rights of other residents to privacy, photographic and video documentation of your loved one’s condition or treatment can be invaluable.
Keep a calendar of events: Know when care plan meetings, doctor’s appointments, and other important events are scheduled to occur – and attend them. If the nursing home fails to inform you of a care plan meeting and other important events in sufficient time for you to be present, let them know that you need adequate notice in order to make plans to attend.
Ask questions: If a question enters your mind, don’t hesitate to raise it. There is no such thing as a foolish question when it comes to the care of your loved one. Silence is the best friend of nursing home abuse while a strong, powerful voice is its worst enemy.
Document: It is always helpful to document in writing any conversations, events, complaints, and other matters of importance so that you will have a record for future use. Writing and preserving as much detail as possible is important.
Learn More about How You Can Monitor the Care of Your Loved One
Nursing home and wrongful death attorneys Marian Rosen and Angela Spears would be pleased to answer any questions you have about monitoring the care of your loved one in a nursing home. For more information, contact the law firm of Rosen & Spears today.
Tagged with: Nursing Home Abuse Personal Injury Wrongful Death
