When we think of the main cause of Oregon nursing home abuse, we may think might of physical abuse or sexual abuse by “bad apples” who work at the facility. While that may be true, one of the main causes of nursing home abuse is actually due to inadequate staffing. In fact, inadequate staffing is a major factor for overall nursing home care and treatment. Federal studies have shown through statistical data that inadequate staffing directly correlates to lower quality of care. Even though there are state and federal regulations regarding nursing home staffing, other statistics data reveals that nursing homes regularly lie about their staffing levels to the federal government so much that 7 in 10 facilities had lower staffing levels than they actually reported. Our Bend/Portland, Oregon lawyers explains why inadequate staffing is so dangerous in nursing homes and how it can lead to serious nursing home abuse and neglect.
Inadequate staffing translates to a poorer quality of care for many reasons. The most obvious reason is that less staffing means less assistance, supervision, and treatment to residents. This means that residents are receiving less attention than they should be if the proper amount of care was rendered to them. When there are emergencies, less staffing means slower response time and less assistance.
But also as stated in the statical sources above, there are other factors which are effected by staffing. Nursing motivation deteriorates when there is a heavy workload and few other staff members to support it. In addition, when there are less staff members around there is a greater chance for deviant residents or even other staff members to get away with physical abuse, neglect, or other misconduct.
Inadequate staffing translates into numerous problems for nursing home residents. However, there are certain issues that arise which can be particularly devastating and even dangerous. This includes some of the following:
Inadequate staffing should simply not occur with the proper care and treatment that residents deserve. But unfortunately it does occur. It occurs not only because of staffing issues, but also because nursing homes are a business and the less staff that are on duty the more money the nursing home administrators are saving. Staffing issues are also usually a greater sign of problems and just the tip of the iceberg. If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect contact the Oregon Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form. We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, and Hillsboro.
We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take Nursing Home Abuse cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.
Please act quickly, there is a limited time (Statute of Limitations) in which you can bring a claim under the law.