Placing a loved one in a nursing home environment can be stressful for both resident and family members. Sometimes a good match is made, resulting in a happy, healthy resident and a satisfied family.
But at other times the situation takes a wrong turn. Family members may come to visit a resident and find that the loved one has a new, undiagnosed health problem, an unaddressed hygiene issue, or an unhappy mental state. If you feel that your loved one has been mistreated or neglected by the nursing home staff in some way, here are some of the steps you may wish to take in order to deal with the problem:
1. Discuss your concern with the family member. Unless speech or memory is a problem, he or she may be able to tell you what is happening. Take notes to report the issue in the resident's exact words, which helps the family member avoid minimizing or exaggerating a concern. Repeat it back to see if you understand correctly.
2. Meet with the nursing home staff. Find out who is responsible for providing care in that area to your family member, especially if the problem is occurring at a specific time or on a given day. It may be one or two staff members have failed to understand their job description or to carry out assigned duties. If the problem is more generic or widespread, for example, a bedsore that requires several hours or days in the same position to develop, which would suggest that several staff members had overlooked it, meet with the head nurse. That person has the duty of supervising all staff in the department and should be able to work with you to find a satisfactory solution.
3. If the department head cannot or will not help to resolve the problem, meet with the facility's chief administrator. Put your complaint in writing, using specific dates, times, and frequencies (for example, staff refused to help Mother to the toilet after supper for three days in a row). Also explain what happened when you spoke with staff and the head nurse. The administrator can decide whether to include those persons at this meeting.
4. Talk with the doctor. Your physician should have some idea as to the effect of the nursing home problem on your loved one. He or she may be able to talk with the facility's personnel in a way that drives home the importance of properly attending your family member's needs.
5. Contact the ombudsman. Many hospitals and nursing homes work through an ombudsman to address family concerns and resident issues. Find out if your doctor, local hospital, or the nursing facility can point you to an ombudsman that can help you articulate the problem in a way that will bring it to resolution.
6. Get in touch with state licensing agencies. If all else fails to this point, find out which state office licenses your loved one's nursing facility and contact that office to report the problem. Although inspections are routinely conducted, the monitoring office has no way of knowing if a problem exists between inspections. Share your concerns and follow their guidelines.
Most nursing home staff are eager to work with families to ensure the comfort, safety, and well being of their facility's residents. Use clear, direct communication to share concerns. Chances are you will soon see positive results.
