Causes of Deaths in Nursing Homes
While families take into consideration all benefits and disadvantages of different nursing homes to choose the right facility for their loved ones, abuse and neglect in such facilities cause residents to die prematurely, which is an astonishing fact. According to Goldberg and Botero (2008), between 20% and 24% of deaths in the US occur in nursing homes. In many instances, the lack of staff training and inefficient operational insight lead to the elderly developing dangerous infections and preventable illnesses as well as experiencing falls and injuries. Unfortunately, determining whether the death was caused by negligence is complicated; the staff usually covers up the deaths by making false certificates, which state that the elderly were of poor health.
Apart from natural causes of death that still occur in nursing homes due to the residents’ age and health condition, wrongful deaths are still a problem. As mentioned in the article “Wrongful death in nursing homes” (2017), wrongful death in nursing homes refers to the death that is “directly attributed to the fault of another individual or collection of individuals” (para. 2). Such deaths can occur as a result of the following:
- Life-threatening infections;
- Lack of supervision from staff;
- Falls and injuries;
- Neglect of basic needs and unsanitary conditions at facilities;
- Errors in medication.
For understanding elder abuse and ending it, identifying neglect is an essential step. An important component is recognizing the most common signs of elder abuse, which include the development of unexplained injuries, bruises, infections, broken bones, unexpected death, malnutrition and dehydration, as well as other signs of lack of care.
Who Should Be Held Liable?
Nursing homes and other facilities for assisted living are required to provide their residents with a reasonable level of care that aligns with the current medical standards. If an injury or death occurs under the care of the nursing home or its staff members, facilities may be held accountable and legally responsible, which subsequently leads to the evaluation of the case-specific contexts associated with the death or injury in question. It is imperative that any claim for wrongful death or injury is proven and that it is demonstrated that the duty of care was breached and the breach was the main reason for the death or injury of the resident (Nursing Home Abuse Guide, n.d.).
Nurses and other healthcare professionals should be held accountable for the mistreatment of patients due to the requirement to provide their services in a legal and ethical manner. Laws for overseeing and ensuring the safety of patients and the reliability of the nursing staff have been introduced for developing administrative regulations and rules that make the law specific (Barmak, 2017). Nursing home staff (RNs, LVNs, and LPNs) is liable for the injuries they caused to residents under the nurse practice act (NPA) and the standard of care (SOC) of their state. Therefore, they should be the first to be held accountable for wrongful deaths and injuries that take place in nursing homes; also, facilities should also be held responsible for the lack of personnel training and attention to the actions of the staff. In order to understand why the staff and facilities should be held accountable, it is important to get to know the most common liability issues, which include the following:
- Failure to follow the NPA (Barmak, 2017);
- Failure to abide by the standards outlined by the SOC;
- Lack of attention to adhering to protocols, procedures, and policies (Barmak, 2017);
- Lack of attention to documentation, attempts to alter documentation, and claims of loss of documentation;
- Failure to report and recognize any changes that occur in patients’ health conditions;
- Inability to communicate any arising issues across the spectrum of healthcare providers;
- Failure to ensure that the residents of nursing homes are provided with a safe environment (Barmak, 2017).
Recommended Punisment for Neglect in Nursing Homes
According to the research conducted by Ibrahim et al. (2017), the incidence of wrongful and premature deaths among nursing home residents have increased over the past ten years. When discussing the context of nursing home neglect that leads to adverse consequences for residents, “there is a combination of civil and criminal laws rathat can apply” (“Is nursing home neglect legal?,” 2017, para. 4). For instance, minor degrees of neglectful conduct such as unintentional missing of a resident’s medical appointment do not violate law; however, as such neglect repeats and becomes more serious, the care provider can risk violating civil and criminal laws and get punished by the state (“Is nursing home neglect legal?,” 2017).
Punishment for repeated and serious neglect of nursing home residents should be determined by the court of law. Depending on the severity of neglect and its consequences, the punishment can range from a probation period to a prison sentence. The key thing required to punish a healthcare provider is proving that the duty of care was owed and that it was breached, leading to adverse health consequences for the resident.
References
Barmak, D. (2017). Nursing home staff are being held liable for abuse and neglect to residents. Web.
Goldberg, T., & Botero, A. (2008). Causes of death in elderly nursing home residents. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 9(8), 565-567.
Ibrahim, J., Bugeja, L., Willoughby, M., Bevan, M., Kipsaina, C., Young, C.,… Ranson, D. (2017). Premature deaths of nursing home residents: An epidemiological analysis. Medical Journal of Australia, 206(10), 442-447.
Is nursing home neglect legal? (2017). Web.
Nursing Home Abuse Guide. (n.d.). Nursing home liability. Web.
Wrongful death in nursing homes.(2017). Web.