Understaffed Nursing Homes Risk Neglecting Patients
Recent studies have shown that nursing homes have a high staff turn over rate. Reports claim that registered nurses leave their job after one year; while assistances only stick around six months.
With such high turnover rates at about 200% a year, patients have a higher chance of experiencing neglect. Even if neglect is not intentional by the care staff, it is still considered neglect. One of the most contributing factors in nursing home neglect is the turn over rate of their staff.
You can imagine the problems you will run into when multiple staff leaves at a time and new staff is hired on. While understaffed, the staff may also feel rushed and not spend time with patients to complete full tasks and give them the attention they need. The turnover of staff especially affects seniors with mental impairments that need familiar faces to express their needs to.
Developing a close relationship with the current staff and making them aware of your requests while your loved one is in their facility is vital. If you are still looking into a facility for long term care, ask about their turn over rate and how they manage patients during times of understaffing.
If you feel your loved one has been neglected due to the understaffing of their nursing home, contact a lawyer in your area for a consultation.