I keep hearing about understaffing at nursing homes and to be aware of this factor when deciding on a home for my elderly father. How will understaffing affect the care he gets?

When a nursing home doesn’t have enough staff to properly care for patients and properly attend to their needs, the nursing home is understaffed. Unfortunately, this is a huge issue in the nursing home industry. Sadly, many nursing home companies don’t hire enough employees because they prioritize money over patient care.

When nursing homes are understaffed, the outcome isn’t just residents getting served dinner later than normal. It can be everything from missing medication to getting the wrong medications. Also, residents may be left in soiled sheets or not turned often enough, which can lead to pressure sores and infections. Other outcomes of understaffing is neglect, malnutrition, dehydration, unsanitary conditions, and even incidents of nursing home abuse.

It is always best when looking for a nursing home for your loved one to find out the facility’s resident to staff ratio, observe the facility with your own eyes, and conduct online reviews of the nursing home to see if other residents and/or their families are complaining of nursing home neglect and understaffing.

Even if your best efforts for finding a nursing home still results in nursing home neglect, you may have a legal claim. To find out your rights, contact a nursing home abuse attorney in the Fort Lauderdale area at the Law Offices of David Benenfeld for a complimentary consultation today at 866-9 HELP NOW or 866-943-5766.