DeSoto County, Mississippi Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

Unfortunately, incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect occur everyday, even in seemingly safe places like DeSoto County, MS. Every suburban county has its share of nursing home facilities, some good and some bad. Even the best facilities sometimes hire the wrong people and incidents of abuse or neglect can take place in well-respected homes.

It might come as a surprise to many people that the problems of nursing home abuse are not confined to bottom of the barrel nursing homes. The fact is, staffing issues lead to problems in a wide variety of facilities. One of the biggest causes of nursing home neglect is understaffing. Too few nurses and attendants are expected to care for too many patients. When the staff is stretched so thin to protect the nursing home’s financial bottom-line, patient care suffers. There are fewer attendants to help patients out of bed or into the restroom, leading to slips and falls. Too few nurses mean that the staff is not able to respond as quickly to emergencies or bed alarms. Finally, overstretched staff members are pushed to the limits emotionally and may be more apt to lash out at innocent seniors.

Residents of those nursing homes falling below minimal staffing standards are much more likely to develop bedsores and experience unusually large amounts of weight loss as opposed those in other, better staffed nursing homes. This is because a certain level of staff must be available so that all residents who cannot eat or get out of bed by themselves receive help the help they need.

Low pay and inadequate training are two other common causes of nursing home neglect and abuse. By offering such low salaries, the best and most capable nurses often choose not to apply, leaving the nursing facilities to pick through those willing to work for little money. Low pay also results in very high attrition rates. That means that the staff the homes do hire seldom stays for long. This deprives seniors of stable, continuous care form knowledgeable staff members. Instead of continuity, caregivers move through a constantly revolving door. Inadequate training often results from staff members being overworked. With too much to do and too little time, it’s often the case that training fails by the wayside. This results in staff members who are not as well versed as they ought to be in caring for needy seniors.

DeSoto County, MS nursing home residents should expect top quality care in their golden years. Residents in Mississippi have a right to privacy, dignity and respect and those facilities that fail to live up to these obligations should be held accountable. If you suspect that a loved one is suffering from nursing home abuse or neglect in DeSoto County, MS, contact one of our nursing home abuse attorneys immediately. The experienced attorneys atStroud, Flechas & Dalton have handled complicated cases of abuse and neglect before and will show your loved one the respect they deserve while helping to get justice through financial compensation. Call us toll-free today at (662) 371-6580 for a free consultation.