Horrified by NJ Nursing Home Abuse? So Are We!
There are few things more upsetting than making the decision to put Mom or Dad into a nursing home. You do your due diligence – visit facilities, research, ask plenty of questions. You may even check out a particular nursing home’s record with regard to negligence and abuse of patients. When everything checks out, you bite the bullet and entrust your loved one into someone else’s long-term care.
Then, you get the call. Mom took a fall. Dad has unexplained bruises. Or, you visit and find out they haven’t been eating or they are overmedicated. You are stunned and horrified! What do you do next? Unfortunately, your only recourse may a legal one. This is especially true if you find out that the facility’s negligence led to your loved one’s untimely death.
Almost 30 years ago, US Congress did a study of nursing homes across the country. The study, conducted by the Institute of Medicine, revealed some frightening information. The amount of neglect, abuse and inadequate care given around the US was jaw-dropping. In the wake of that information, Congress enacted nursing home reforms to hold facilities accountable for their treatment of patients.
A few years later, in 1987, Congress introduced the Nursing Home Reform Act. Under this regulation:
“A nursing home or long term care facility must provide services and care to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental and psychological well-being of each resident and that this care must be given based on written documentation for each resident, known as an individualized plan of care.”
The truth is, neglect and abuse still exist in long-term facilities across the United States. Many of these cases aren’t found out about until it’s too late and the patient is already suffering considerably from pressure ulcers, infections, physical and mental abuse, medication abuse, urinary tract infections and more.
If your loved one is in a nursing home and you suspect abuse or neglect, do two things: alert management of the facility immediately. Second, contact an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer who won’t let them get away with hurting your family member anymore.
Contact Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLC for swift response to you nursing home abuse and neglect claims. We help families in Westfield, Fanwood, Scotch Plains and throughout New Jersey.