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When your loved ones grow old, you must address their care needs. The two main options are to get in-home care or to send them to a nursing home. A nursing home is a facility where they will have their medical and lifestyle needs satisfied.

However, some nursing homes have received claims for neglect and abuse. Such cases make it imperative that you exercise caution when choosing a nursing home for your loved ones. The following are red flags that should warn you away from a nursing home: 

Poor State Of The Facility

You will pay the nursing home to take care of your loved one. Nursing homes also receive subsidies from the government to help cater to increasing retirement costs for the elderly. 

Therefore, they should have enough money to ensure their facilities are in the best shape possible. If you see a dirty and run-down home, it should be a red flag and a warning that the administration is poor.

You should take your elderly relative to a nursing home that is as clean as your home. The administration should make repairs promptly to create a safe environment for the residents. 

Unanswered Call Lights

Many nursing homes will have call lights, so residents have a convenient way to reach the staff. Most residents cannot call out or rush to get medical attention. It is vital to personally visit nursing homes because you can see how they respond to residents calling for assistance.

A significant red flag is when there are many unanswered call lights above residents’ doors. Staff in a nursing home should quickly respond to residents calling as it may be a medical emergency.

It also shows that the staff cares about the residents’ well-being. You can sue such a facility for negligence if something terrible happens to a loved one. 

Poor Food Quality

Nutrition is especially crucial for the elderly because of their delicate constitution, so you need to pay attention to the food quality when evaluating nursing homes. Visit the facility at lunchtime and see the food they serve the residents.

If allowed, have a plate and test for yourself, pun intended. If you cannot eat the food, neither should your loved one, and you should forget the nursing home.

The food at a nursing home should be nutritious, well cooked, and upheld to the highest sanitary standards; anything else is unacceptable. 

You Hear Staff Insulting or Threatening Residents

How the staff treats the patients could be the most crucial factor when evaluating nursing home staff. You should pay special attention to the interactions between the staff and the patients when visiting nursing homes.

If you hear the staff insulting or threatening the residents, it is a red flag you cannot ignore. In fact, you should contact nursinghomelawyerpa.com and have them launch an investigation into the facility.

Such conduct shows that when you are not close, the residents can suffer horrible abuse, which is wrong and punishable by law. 

Rigid Visitation Policies

When you send your elderly loved one to a facility, it should not be like sending them to prison. You should be able to see them as often as you want.

A giant red flag is a nursing home with limited visiting hours, especially during the day. Granted, it is inappropriate to visit the nursing home at 2 a.m, but when the residents are awake, you should be able to see your loved one.

Therefore, review the home’s visitation policies as it may be symptomatic of a deeper issue like understaffing. 

When evaluating nursing homes, there is much to consider to determine which option is the best for your elderly relative.

Red flags to look out for include staff abusing residents, poor food quality, unanswered call lights, the debilitated state of the facility, and rigid visitation policies. These red flags are only a start; you should check out more red flags to make the right choice.