The mere words “nursing home” can strike fear in the hearts of many senior citizens. These facilities are in the news every day, along with the negative issues that can often surround nursing homes. From the lack of qualified staffing in nursing homes to hip-breaking accidents and the high costs of nursing home care, the decision to move to a home is a decision that many families don’t want to have to make when they are no longer able to care for their aging loved ones. Here are the top five issues in nursing homes today and what you can do to prevent a negative experience for your elderly family members when choosing a facility.

Neglect

The number one issue in nursing home care is neglect. This is a frequent problem that is compounded by many factors, such as a high resident to staff ratio or lack of training in specialized medical care. Without proper care and attention, your loved one can end up with bedsores, dehydration, and lack of stimulating activities and social outlets or medication errors – which can lead to serious illness, depression or even death. The best way to avoid this issue is to know ahead of time how many staff are in place to care for your loved one, what kind of training they receive and what you can do to attend to the needs of your family member when they need extra care.

Abuse

A few years ago, nursing home abuse was in the news as cases came to light in several major chains of nursing home care groups. Abuse can come from the staff that are supposed to be caring for your loved one, or it can come from other residents of the nursing home. Make sure you ask any potential provider what their policy is regarding allegations of abuse ahead of time. Know what signs to look for and report anything suspicious to the proper authorities if you think abuse has happened.

Poor Staffing

One of the biggest issues in nursing home care is the lack of qualified staff to attend to the needs of nursing home patients. Many nursing home care facilities hire people with no previous medical background and put them through minimal training to get them on board faster, and many workers don’t earn much above minimum wage. This can lead to high turnover rates and overworked staff. Be sure to ask the nursing home you are considering what the average staff to patient ratio is and how they rotate their staff to avoid this issue.

High Costs

With the cost of medical care rising, nursing homes have had to raise their rates as well. Many nursing homes cost between $900-1500 a month just for basic care for elderly residents. Medicare only covers part of that so it’s left up to their families to cover the rest. To avoid this problem, be sure to check with nursing homes to see what supplemental programs they can offer, or if they work with secondary insurance companies to better manage the costs of caring for your loved one.

Accidents

This is a problem for many nursing homes that are understaffed or lack the proper equipment to prevent accidents due to falls, slips, burns or breaks that can occur with elderly people. The residents can accidentally cause harm to themselves or others because they are out of sorts or disabled physically or mentally. It’s important that when evaluating a nursing home that you visually inspect all living and recreational areas to make sure they are equipped with safety items like hand rails, non-slip surfaces and safety switches in bathrooms and sleeping areas. Paying attention to these things can prevent many accidents from occurring to ensure your elderly family member stays safe for the duration of their stay.

The nursing homes of today are much reformed from the facilities of the past. There are better trained staff members to take good care of your loved one. Gone are the institutional type nursing homes, which have been transformed into more active communities with many stimulating and enjoyable social activities for elderly residents to benefit from. Use care in choosing a nursing home that will best meet the needs of your family member and you will benefit from these changes and prevent any issues. You can rest at night knowing they are safe and living in comfort in their old age.