Most people who place an elderly loved one in a Mississippi nursing home expect a certain level of care to be maintained. Unfortunately, neglect remains one of the most typical forms of abuse in U.S. nursing homes. Instances of this type of abuse can include oversights with basic hygiene and failure to provide assistance with daily tasks like eating and maintaining mobility.

It can be helpful for individuals with loved ones in need of special care to be aware of some of the common symptoms of nursing home neglect. For example, a lack of routine dental care is a serious problem. Failure to provide assistance with nail clipping, bathing and other personal hygiene tasks sometimes occurs if staff members aren’t properly trained. Federal law requires long-term care facilities to maintain healthy, safe and sanitary living conditions. Unchanged bedding, lack of clean clothing and unclean kitchen areas are signs that could suggest this isn’t happening.

Malnutrition and dehydration are physical signs of negligence that can seriously affect the health of nursing home residents, a problem that may impact 20 percent of international nursing facility residents. A lack of routine movement is a form of negligence that could lead to weak muscles and other physical issues. Unexplained injuries or bruises could be another sign that abuse or neglect is taking place. People should also be on the lookout for depression, sudden changes with behavior and other psychological issues.

If red flags suggesting nursing home negligence are spotted by family members, the responsible facilities may be held legally responsible. This means a lawyer could file a lawsuit if it becomes clear that abuse or neglect occurred. Grounds for legal action may include failure to screen and hire employees, failure to provide sufficient medical treatment and/or clear violations of federal and state regulations.

Transitioning a parent from living independently to living in a nursing home is difficult in and of itself. However, it can prove even more emotionally taxing if you have concerns about the quality of care your mom or dad receives while there. Unfortunately, many American nursing homes suffer from internal issues that can affect the treatment and care your loved one receives, and one such common issue involves nursing home understaffing.

According to PBS, the majority of nursing homes across Mississippi and the nation experience understaffing issues, making it all but impossible for staff members on duty to provide adequate care for residents. While the problem is a pervasive one at many nursing homes and continuing care facilities around the clock, it appears to be particularly noticeable on weekends.

Why are so many nursing homes understaffed?

While a number of contributing factors exist as to why so many American nursing homes lack adequate staff, low pay is a significant one. Many nursing assistants make little, if any, more than, say, retail associates, but they often have far tougher schedules and job demands. The difficult hours associated with working in a nursing home is another contributing factor, with many health care and administrative professionals preferring not to work overnight or on weekends. Additionally, the emotional nature of the job may also make it difficult for nursing homes to maintain adequate staff, particularly when the pay is not necessarily commensurate with the expectations of the job.

What are the consequences of understaffed nursing homes?

Unfortunately, the residents are the ones who suffer most when nursing homes have understaffing issues. In addition to making it more difficult for limited staff to take care of basic resident needs, such as feeding residents or taking them to the bathroom, understaffing can spread existing workers too thin mentally, making them more prone to making mistakes. Exhausted staffers, for example, may be more likely to make medication dosing errors or similar mistakes. They may also take out their frustrations on residents, both intentionally and unintentionally.

While these are some key problems that can occur when nursing homes lack adequate staff, please note it is not an exhaustive summary of all possible negative effects.

For too many elderly or incapacitated people in Mississippi, abuse or neglect inside a nursing home is a fact of life. Family members may be concerned about how they can protect people who may not be able to advocate for themselves, especially if they are dealing with dementia, developmental disabilities or other conditions that make them less able to speak about their experiences. Several disturbing incidents have highlighted the potential for abuse in the nursing home context, including a young developmentally disabled woman who was raped and beaten and a woman in a vegetative state who was discovered to be pregnant.

Both were being cared for in nursing homes when the abuse was discovered, and the perpetrators are still apparently unknown. As a result, family members have been seeking more information about the experiences of their own loved ones in care homes or nursing facilities. While these cases may be particularly extreme, physical violence, sexual abuse or verbal and financial mistreatment can occur and go unnoticed. Between 2013 and 2016, over 1,000 nursing homes were cited by federal authorities for failing to prevent sexual assault, abuse or rape inside their facilities. Around 100 were cited multiple times during that three-year period for the same offenses.

Some of the most vulnerable patients may be unable to speak clearly, or their illnesses may lead to them being disbelieved if they do try to share their experiences. Nursing homes with high levels of staff turnover or shortages may be particularly vulnerable locations as there could be little oversight over potential abusers.

Nursing home abuse can devastate patients as well as their families. Whether the mistreatment was financial, sexual or physical, the consequences can be severe and long-lasting. An attorney may work with family members to pursue compensation and accountability in cases of nursing home neglect and abuse.

Mississippi residents may have heard about a story involving a woman in a vegetative state who gave birth in December 2018. The woman had been in that state for roughly two decades when her son was born. Although nursing home caretakers were watching over the woman on a 24/7 basis, no one has acknowledged anything out of the ordinary took place prior to the event. According to one person familiar with the incident, she would not have been able to defend herself against a sexual assault.

She would also not be able to tell anyone that she was pregnant. Multiple people did have access to the 29-year-old woman’s room, and police have obtained warrants to collect DNA samples from male employees. An investigation into the incident is being undertaken by the Arizona Department of Health. Hacienda HealthCare has also said that it is conducting an investigation and that it has changed its policies to ensure something similar doesn’t happen again.

One of the new rules states that male employees must have a female employee with them when entering a female patient’s room. A board member for Hacienda Health said that the company would do everything in its power to protect patient safety. The organization’s CEO at the time of the incident resigned in its aftermath.

If a nursing home fails to provide a reasonable level of care to patients, it could constitute negligence on its part. In some cases, multiple parties could be held financially responsible. For instance, an employee who sexually or otherwise abuses a patient could be liable for damages as well as managers or others who fail to stop it.

Mississippi residents with concerns about distracted driving should be aware of a JAMA Psychiatry study that shows ADHD medication greatly reduces the chances a driver with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder will get in a car accident. The study examined more than 2.3 million Americans and demonstrated that up to 22.1 percent of car crashes may not have happened if the drivers had received ADHD medication.

ADHD is a disorder with core symptoms that include inattention and impulsivity, two factors that may greatly interfere with a person’s ability to drive safely. The study found that 83.9 percent of the drivers with ADHD received at least a single prescription for ADHD medication. Researchers then looked at emergency room visits resulting from car accidents that occurred while the patients were behind the wheel. The study found that the risk of getting into a car accident was much higher during months when patients did not refill their prescriptions. However, when they were presumably medicated, their risk was much lower. Female ADHD patients had a 42 percent lower risk of getting into a car accident when they were medicated and male ADHD patients had a 38 percent lower risk.

Although medication may help eliminate crash risks, some patients do not want to take their pills. An assistant professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Department at Florida International University stated that there is a general trend of patients choosing not to take their medication because they do not like the way it makes them feel.

Someone who has been injured in a car accident should consider working with an attorney experienced in negligence and personal injury. Legal counsel could help prove that a distracted driver was at fault for an accident. This may lead to compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and lost wages. In the event of an injury resulting in a need for physical therapy, compensation may also include transportation to and from appointments.