As elderly family members get older, there may come a time when they are no longer capable of living on their own or taking care of themselves—meaning you may have to make the difficult choice of whether or not to move them to a nursing home.However, whether you have already made this decision or anticipate you will have to in the future, you trust and hope that the staff and medical professionals at the facility you choose will provide your loved ones with compassionate and capable care. Unfortunately, though, these expectations may not always be realistic, especially at certain facilities in New York City.In fact, according to the Best Nursing Homes rankings issued by U.S. News & World Report, many NYC nursing homes are failing to deliver quality care on a consistent basis. For instance, these rankings, which review factors such as health inspections, nursing staff, and other quality measures, found that only 186 of the 563 nursing homes reviewed in the New York City area receive a perfect five-star rating.Even more startling is the fact that this report gives nearly one-quarter of all NYC nursing homes a measly overall rating of only one or two stars - indicating significant issues with the quality of care they provide.
Protecting Family Members in Nursing Homes
Given what is at stake when an elderly family member is being neglected or abused by nursing home staff, you need to always be on the look-out for signs of mistreatment, including:
- Bedsores
- Falls
- Dirty or soiled bedding
- Unexplained injuries, including bruises, cuts, burns and broken bones
- Medication mistakes, including the failure to properly administer medications or overdoses
- Inadequate supervision, particularly when it results in the wandering off of nursing home residents
If the actions of nursing home staff have left you or a loved one injured, you need to act fast. Seek experienced legal counsel as soon as possible. Only then can you hope to hold negligent nursing homes accountable for their actions. We invite you to contact our New York law office 212-869-3500 with any questions you may have about injuries from nursing home neglect.
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