How Do I Prevent Nursing Home Injuries?

It is impossible to prevent nursing home injuries from occurring with a 100% success rate.  Some injuries are not preventable.  But, that does not mean there are not tools and strategies that help prevent nursing home injuries from taking place.  In this article, we will discuss methods to reduce the chance your loved one is injured in a nursing home or assisted living facility.

How to Prevent Nursing Home Injuries Suggestions #1 – Canary Camera

Our first recommendation is to buy a motion detection camera to prevent nursing home injuries.  Devices such as the Canary Camera allow you to see real time updates when there is movement in your loved one’s room.  This gadget helps prevent nursing home injuries in a number of ways:

• First, getting real time updates allows you to know with exact certainty how often staff is assisting your loved one.  For example, if your loved one is supposed to be re-positioned every 2 hours, you should be getting updates every two hours or else the facility is putting your loved on at risk for bedsores.
• Second, many of these devices have a voice command mode, so you can talk directly to your loved one from the device.  Clients have had success telling their loved one to return to bed if they attempt to get up in the middle of the night.  Additionally, clients have been able to alert the facility when their loved one needs to go to the restroom.  These real-time updates can help prevent falls, which all to often lead to wrongful death.
• Third, devices such as the Canary Camera provides alerts for changes in temperature.  This can be useful to notify a facility if the air conditioning or heating unit is broken in your loved one’s room.  For example, a natural disaster can leave residents with no air conditioning in hot weather.

It is important to note that videotaping and/or recording voice conversations may run afoul of state privacy laws.  Depending on the state, you may need consent from any other resident filmed in your loved one’s room.  Therefore, it is easier to use a recording device in a single room.  Prior to admission, you should discuss any recording policies and procedures with the nursing home or assisted living facility.

How to Prevent Nursing Home Injuries Suggestions #2 – Online Resources

Our second recommendation is to utilize a few online resources prior to choosing a facility in order to prevent nursing home injuries.  Not all nursing homes are created equal – some are more likely to provide a safer environment than others.  Prior to choosing a long-term care facility, you should consult the following websites:

1. NursingHomeCompare.gov – Nursing Home Compare is provided by Medicare.Gov and allows for you to see ranking of nearby nursing homes.  There is a lot of information to glean from this website, including:
   • Health Inspection Reports
     • for more technical reviews, check our instructions for Florida and Pennsylvania
   • Staffing Ratings
   • Penalties Against the Facility
2. Prior lawsuits against a facility – in many states, anyone can search for the clerk of court of the county where a facility is located to find prior lawsuits against the facility.
   • Click here for Florida Directions and here for Pennsylvania Directions
3. Speak with a geriatric care manager – geriatric care managers advocate for elders and provide a helpful service to place at need residents in nursing homes that can accommodate their needs

How to Prevent Nursing Home Injuries Suggestions #2 – Bringing a Lawsuit Against the Responsible Facility

While bringing a lawsuit against a home cannot undue the damage caused to your loved one and your family, it can help prevent nursing home injuries to other residents in the future.  Nursing homes often under-staff nurses and employees to save money – a side effect of this approach is more injuries due to abuse and neglect.  By making facilities pay when they neglect or abuse your loved one, you make it less financially beneficial for a facility to under-staff.

If you think a loved one has been injured at a nursing home or assisted living facility, call Senior Justice Law Firm today for a cost free consultation.  Let the experienced attorneys at Senior Justice Law Firm help you family in seeking justice for abuse and neglect.  Call us at 561-717-0817.