If you or a loved one is considering moving into a nursing home in order to obtain the daily care that you need, it's almost certain that your head is filled with a plethora of different questions. This is a scary situation to encounter for several reasons, and for the soon-to-be resident it is also difficult because he or she is giving up his or her independence. Questions will obviously involve the basics of living in such a facility, and they could include cost, meal details, schedules, routines, medical care availability, visiting hours and the like. Based on an article that was recently published that reviewed the results of two studies of nursing homes, prospective residents and/or their loved ones may also need to start asking some direct questions about staff turnover. That's because these studies both concluded that the higher the turnover was in a nursing home, the more risk of inadequate care a typical resident would encounter. The article discussing these studies can be found here, and it could lead to yet another prong of due diligence that should be completed before moving into a particular facility. The first study discussed in the article found an association between the turnover of both licensed nurses and certified nursing assistants and problems with the quality of care of the residents in a facility. The second study found a correlation between incidents of bedsores, urinary tract infections and general pain with the turnover rate of the certified nursing assistants. Clearly, these studies led the researchers to call for steps to be taken to minimize turnover in nursing homes.
STAFF TURNOVER AND NURSING HOME NEGLECT
In a legal sense, what these studies basically found was that the more staffs in nursing homes turn over, the higher the likelihood that situations of nursing home neglect could arise. Nursing home neglect is a legal claim that can be made against facilities that do not meet reasonable standards of care. If this failure to meet these standards either directly or indirectly causes harm that is suffered by residents that generates different forms of loss, it could lead to the recovery of compensation for those residents who file legal claims. In terms of what it means for you or for a loved one who is going to be moving into a nursing home, you obviously need to ask questions of the management that relate to turnover among the staff. If that turnover is high, you may want to ask additional questions or perhaps continue with your search so that you can find some points of comparison. If you or a loved one has been neglected while living in a nursing home for whatever reason, you need to take action to protect your legal rights. You can do so by contacting the Las Vegas nursing home neglect lawyers at High Stakes Injury Law today to schedule a free initial consultation.