Our nations’ nursing homes are in dire need of help. Every day, nursing home abuse attorneys of Messa & Associates, P.C. are contacted by individuals regarding some form of abuse or negligence that a loved one endured in a nursing home. The importance of patient care seems to have dissipated and its priority replaced by money and business related needs.
However, it seems there is has been a push for betterment in the nursing home industry. Advancing Excellence, NH Quality Campaign – a campaign created to encourage, assist, and empower nursing homes to improve the quality of life, prevent bed sores and pressure ulcers, and care for residents – is prepared to change the nursing homes of America.
Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys Support goals of Advancing Excellence Campaign
The coalition, which is the first of its kind, is made up of long term care providers, medical professionals, consumers, employees, and state and federal agencies. It has 8 major goals:
- To minimize staff turnover; a stable workforce will improve patient care.
- To employ a “Constant Assignment” plan so that patients are regularly cared for by the same caregiver.
- To reduce the time residents spend restrained. Independence will improve quality of life.
- To prevent bed sores and pressure ulcers, and to provide appropriate treatment of those that do develop.
- To prevent unnecessary or prolonged episodes of severe pain.
- To include residents in advanced care planning prior to the completion of their stay
- To use assessments of resident and family experience of care to improve future quality of care for patient safety.
- To use assessment of staff satisfaction of work environment to improve future quality of care.
Many nursing home establishments have joined forces with Advancing Excellence in efforts to improve the quality of care they provide. Obviously, these establishments are aware and agree that they are not providing top notch care. It’s good news to those who have suffered from nursing abuse, neglect, and inadequacy.
All nursing homes in New Jersey are in fact either participants in or charter members of the Advancing Excellence campaign. We should be proud that caregivers in the state are willing to step up and begin providing the kind of care our elderly citizens deserve.
New Jersey and Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys
If you are someone who has seen first-hand the effects of nursing home abuse, negligence, and inadequacy, it’s time to contact a nursing home abuse attorney. The team at Messa & Associates is dedicated to earning justice and compensation for those injured or worse by negligence and abuse in nursing homes and long term care facilities.
Call, toll-free, 1-800-MessaLaw, or submit a free online inquiry. If you would like immediate assistance, click the CHAT LIVE icon to the right. A representative is present right now to answer your questions.
A man fell at the health care center but did not receive proper treatment which led to his death. The report issued by the Department of Health Facility Complaints office stated that the man had a “large hematoma, approximately four centimeters by three centimeters, on his left forehead.” The man was not examined until thirty minutes after he sustained the injury and no vital signs or neurological tests were administered in the hours following the accident. Four hours after the fall, when the proper tests were finally conducted, the man’s vital signs were anything but stable and he was no longer responsive. He was then transferred to the hospital and died a mere two days after the initial accident. The death certificate stated that the death was caused by a massive intracranial hemorrhage. Nursing home neglect is far more prevalent than should be the case and it is essential that in the event of abuse or mistreatment, the proper authorities are notified as soon as possible.
The woman’s troubles began in early June, 2010. On June 8th, the resident fell two times causing significant injuries. First, she fell directly out of her wheelchair, causing her to knock her head against the ground. The woman sustained injuries just above her right eye. Later that same day, the resident fell once again out of her chair onto the floor of a lounge area at the care center. Employees should have been aware of the potential for falls because this woman suffered from advanced dementia and this should have been apparent to her caretakers. Less than one month later, on July 5th, an employee did not know how to use a Divided-leg Sling which was attached to a mechanical lift. This lack of understanding led to yet another fall. This led to the development of a significant sized bump on the back of her head. An investigator for the state was able to substantiate these claims of nursing home neglect when he visited the Lutheran Care Center in September of 2010. Nursing home neglect is a growing problem across the map and it is crucial that these problems be reported as soon as possible in an effort to sustain the health of patients and residents everywhere.
Bed sores are categorized into 4 stages. The 
Many nursing home residents have physical and psychological disabilities that make caring for themselves difficult or impossible. These residents need the staff to be attentive to thinks like oral care in order to prevent the physical complications that can result. Eating less and losing weight is one problem associated with poor dental care, something that can cause severe problems in the elderly. 
Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurological disorder that eventually leads to dementia. This dementia causes a significant loss of mental capabilities, which in turn causes memory loss that can interfere with social functioning. In 2000, 4.5 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Of those diagnosed, 7% were between the ages of 65-74, 53% between the ages of 75 and 84, and 40% were 85 or older. Because of the severity of the effects of Alzheimer’s, many sufferers are forced to enter nursing homes to receive the necessary care, so it’s safe to say that a huge portion of residents in nursing homes are Alzheimer’s patients. It is expected that the rate of the disease will grow three-fold by the year 2050, with 13.2 million people being diagnosed.
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