Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

By Thomas Waitt Pleasant, (Raleigh, Fayetteville, Wilmington) North Carolina Nursing Home Lawyer. Toll Free (888) 435-7156. CBS News reported in 2001 that nursing home abuse is increasing (See Nursing Home Abuse Increasing), citing a congressional report stating that 1,600 nursing homes had been cited for abuse of its nursing home residents. This is, incredibly, about one third of all nursing homes in the united states. It would be interesting to see current statistics on this, and to see how these nursing home abuse statistics pan out for North Carolina nursing homes versus other states. This is not surprising, though, and I would be surprised to learn that nursing home abuse, injury and wrongful death statustics have gotten any better, unfortunately. Once again, along the same lines as other of my blog entries, these problems utlimately have to do with money and budgeting. A nursing home administrator might be trying to do a good job; but cannot due to the budget constraints set by the nursing home's corporate headquarters or nursing home owners. Abuse by nursing home staff generally arises because those being hired have not been properly screened, and the pool of available employees is limited because of the low pay. When you can work at McDonald's for as much as you can make as a nursing assistant at a nursing home, the incentive is low to take the nursing home job: it is likely more difficult. Nursing homes have been historically very profitable. Otherwise, big equity groups like Carlyle would not be in the nursing home business. So, nursing homes must allocate more realistic amounts of money in their facility budgets to ensure that the proper nursing staff can be hired and retained. The bodies and lives of nursing home residents in North Carolina, and in all states, is worth it. Families with loved ones in nursing homes, unfortunately, need to be educated about the signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. If you are interested in this topic, you can download my free e-book, "12 Tips for Dealing with Nursing Home Abuse, Neglect and Wrongful Death." Additionally, you might want to contact my office for help.