If you have a loved one who is either about to move into an assisted living center or a family member already lives in one, you probably understand that he or she lives with many different people who suffer from different health problems. That's just the way things are when people get older, and that's one of the reasons that people in this position need the help provided by staff members at these facilities. Certain health conditions are simply too much for someone to overcome and remain safe in a day-to-day setting. Recently, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, completed a study that looked at the most common health problems faced by people who are currently living in nursing homes.
The study found that those that were most common were hypertension and heart disease, at least among nursing home residents who are 85 years old or older. Specifically, more than 55 percent of the people falling within these parameters suffered from hypertension and more than 49 percent of them suffer from some form of heart disease. While most people have long understood that heart disease has long been a serious and prevalent problem among those who grow older, the prevalence of hypertension was somewhat of a surprise. Each of these conditions requires much in the way of oversight and management, particularly with someone who is already advanced in age and who may not be completely able to provide that management on an individual basis.
This reality is what is sparking some concern among nursing home resident and elder advocates. More and more problems seem to be arising with nursing homes around the country, and the American population is moving into a timeframe when the number of people who are 85 years old or older will increase by nearly 20 million by the year 2050. Specifically, people with hypertension or heart disease need to make sure that they maintain a regular protocol of medication and other medical checkups. Failure to maintain these steps could immediately put someone in a position of extreme danger or even at risk of death. That means that more will be expected of nursing home staff members who will be taking care of more people overall as the years pass.
That also means that family members of people who live in nursing homes or who will be moving into one will need to be vigilant as well. Anyone who notices any type of a problem needs to act immediately, as every hour could matter if someone has either one of these common conditions. Trusting your instincts is something that needs to be done, and people should not simply assume that everything will work out just fine. Over the years we have served as Las Vegas nursing home abuse lawyers, we have seen too many terrible outcomes that were simply the result of a lack of oversight. If this has happened to you, contact a Las Vegas injury lawyer from High Stakes Injury Law today to schedule a free initial consultation.