If you were told that you had a ⅓ chance of suffering harm or injury by spending the night in dangerous place, would you do it?  Probably not.  Unfortunately, many nursing home patients and their families have no choice.

So, how dangerous can nursing nursing homes really be?   According to a recent report by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, 1 out of every 3 patients who stay in a nursing home will suffer harm or injury as a result of the care they receive.   The report also found that most of these incidents were “clearly or likely preventable.”  Importantly, the report attributed much of the preventable harm to “substandard treatment, inadequate resident monitoring, and failure or delay of necessary care.”

Aside from the human suffering caused by these injuries, the effect of the substandard treatment is costly to taxpayers.  In Inspector General found that over half of the residents who experienced harm returned to a hospital for treatment, with an estimated cost to Medicare of $208 million in August 2011.

A copy of the report can be found here.

What you can do

Nursing home abuse and neglect can take many forms. It is important that all families with loved ones in Indiana nursing homes learn how to recognize the signs of nursing home neglect and abuse. If you believe a loved one may have been the victim of nursing home neglect, you should not hesitate to have the matter investigated by filing a complaint. You can find more information about filing a nursing home complaint here. We provide free assistance to anyone who needs help filing a nursing home complaint. Just call us.