The complaint that federal and state authorities often receive about nursing homes is that the staff members at these homes do not reply to complaints. The reason that someone is sent to live in a nursing home is because he or she needs specialized supervision and care that they cannot receive anywhere else. If a nursing home's staff is too busy to respond to a patient when he or she presses the call button, the patient's health problems could become worse. For example, more mistakes can occur, prescription medication may be administered too often or not administered at all, symptoms indicating serious illnesses may not be noticed, and the hygiene of the patient may not be properly attended to.

Many patients staying at nursing homes have illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease, which may cause them to wander. The staff at a nursing home must be able to pay close enough attention to their patients so that they know where they've gone. It is the staff's responsibility to know their patients' whereabouts.

Residents at a nursing home who get frequent visitors often are better taken care of than residents who do not. If you are unable to visit a loved one who is staying at a nursing home, it is important that you call regularly and speak to the staff members that are assigned to take care of your loved one. You may also want to introduce yourself to the other nursing home residents and ask them to watch over your loved one.

For more information about staff inattention and nursing home abuse and neglect, please call Rosenbaum & Associates at 1-800-7-Legal-7. You may also obtain a Free Case Evaluation online.