When you realize that it is too difficult to take care a family member for whom you love a great deal, it can be a worrisome decision to have them placed in a nursing facility or assisted living complex. But when we do decide on what we think is the best care provider, we place a great deal of trust and responsibility in those who will be looking after our loved ones. Unfortunately, however, the care for which we pay a great deal is sometimes substandard and even downright negligent. Too often, we hear stories of seemingly genuine first impressions of a place overshadowed by the staff and administrative lack of humanity towards the ones you love most.
One nursing home in particular, not too far away from Pennsylvania, has come under heavy scrutiny of late and is opening the eyes of everyone who has had to place someone they love in a nursing facility. Stories such as residents being left in soiled diapers for days at a time or left malnourished are a sad but true reality at some nursing homes. This type of negligence usually takes place when residents have trouble communicating and staff members know they can get away with not providing the proper care these people need.
In some places, it's getting so bad that staff members don't even care how they act in front of visitors. One resident's husband claims that a member of the nursing home staff shouted obscenities at him after he kept asking about the status of his wife's blood-sugar without getting an answer. A woman claims to have been told to mind her own business after she made a complaint about her dad's roommate and how that person was receiving substandard care. This came after she found her dad sitting in a soiled diaper for what he claimed was quite some time. To rob the elderly of their dignity in this way is a crime legally and unto humanity.
It's easy to see that working at a nursing facility can often present some serious challenges for staff members and administration. While this may be true, it does not mean that those who are employed by these agencies should neglect the people in their charge. If you have a loved one who you have placed in a nursing home in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or New York, and substandard care has led to neglect and mistreatment, you should remember that you always have legal options. As we grow older, often it is our dignity that we hold most dear. No one's pride should be obstructed by a person who is paid to care for them.