Elder Law

20 Common Nursing Home Problems and How to Resolve Them

By Levin & Perconti

Eric Carlson, an attorney with the national Senior Citizens Law Center has given advice on how to choose a nursing home. He first suggests that consumers be aggressive about questioning a prospective home about nursing home staff and staff training. If you are looking for a home with dementia care, he suggests looking for one that uses resident-centered care that offers a homelike environment and that works to meet a resident?s preference. He believes that the biggest factor when it comes to quality of care is nursing home staff. Try to find a place where the nurse aides have been around for years. This is especially important for those with dementia because they need consistency to enable to recognize the person and build trust. He warns against choosing a home that uses inappropriate use of behavior-modifying medication. Additionally physical restraints can be problematic. Finally, when choosing the difference between nursing homes and assisted-living communities, beware that state regulations are often vague as to what types of needs an assisted-living facility is required to accommodate. To read more tips on choosing a nursing home, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on March 25, 2009 (boomark / email).