Nursing Homes Often Put Profits Over People
About 14 percent of the Modesto population are seniors, and many of these older adults require a move to a nursing home for their later years.
Those seeking long-term care in the Modesto area have many options, including:
- Acacia Park Nursing
- Gardens of Modesto
- El Rio Memory Care
- Dale Commons
- Valley Comfort
- Samaritan Village
Unfortunately, most nursing homes are for-profit enterprises. Some nursing homes provide high-quality care for residents, truly caring about those whose lives and well-being are in the facility’s hands. Unfortunately, not every nursing home puts people over profit.
Many nursing homes try to squeeze every penny they can from their Medicaid reimbursements, and the money families pay for care. They view their residents as profit centers and any costs related to their care as hits to their own bottom line. Too many nursing homes are out to make money, and it can come at the expense of your loved one’s well-being.
Nursing Homes Do Not Have Enough Qualified Staff Members To Care For Your Loved One
One way the nursing home tries to profit at their residents’ expense is by keeping staffing levels below what is necessary to properly care for their residents. Even though California has state rules that dictate a minimum level of staffing, nursing homes do not always follow the law.
Although some nursing homes have the required number of staff members, they may be lower-cost personnel, such as certified nursing assistants. These days, nursing homes claim they cannot hire due to staffing shortages when they simply do not want to pay market wages for experienced and qualified employees.
Understaffed Nursing Homes Put Your Loved One’s Life At Risk
When a nursing home does not have enough staff, it will cause many problems. Staff members are the first line of care, monitoring residents frequently and giving them the help they need with daily activities.
There have been numerous heart-wrenching news stories in the local media about understaffed nursing homes causing serious injury to patients. The pandemic brought to light the serious crisis in state nursing homes. Still, the regulators have not been effective in stamping out harmful conduct by nursing home operators motivated by greed.
The Problems Caused By Unqualified Nursing Home Staff
A lack of staff members can cause serious problems, including:
- Not frequently changing the resident’s position, causing them to develop bed sores (and then not properly treating the bed sores, leading to potentially deadly infections)
- Improperly feeding and hydrating residents
- Not changing the resident often enough, or paying attention to their hygiene, leading them to develop serious infections
- The failure to properly supervise residents, especially those who are a high risk of falling
- The failure to follow medical care plans and give correctly give residents their medication on time
Staffing Issues Can Lead To Nursing Home Abuse
In addition, staffing issues can also lead to the nursing home hiring someone who is unqualified for the job or cannot handle the stress and pressures of working in a skilled nursing facility.
Nursing home staff members can be extremely stretched and taxed when there are too few staff members. Some who have either not been properly screened, or cannot handle the pressures of the job, may abuse nursing home residents.
Nursing home abuse can take on numerous forms, including:
- Physical abuse, where the staff or another resident is violent towards the resident
- Sexual abuse, where the staff or another resident sexually exploits the nursing home resident
- Financial abuse, where someone steals from the resident, deceives them, or pressures them to change their will
- Emotional abuse, which can include singling out the resident for harsh verbal treatment
- Neglect, where the staff fails to provide the necessary level of care for the resident. Even though nobody is actively and physically harming the resident, neglect is still nursing home abuse because it places their health and well-being in jeopardy.
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