ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
With the projected outlook that the elderly population in California states such as San Francisco, will be doubled by 2025 to 6.4 million (largest senior growth rate than any other state) it is safe to assume that the majority of them will end up in a nursing home. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development reported that roughly one-fifth of nursing homes in the main states such as San Francisco, do not meet the state’s mandatory requirements for staffing levels. This often leads to nursing home elder abuse.
Elder abuse attorneys would agree that understaffing in nursing homes is a growing concern as it correlates to how much attention and adequate care seniors are actually receiving. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and elder abuse attorneys suggests that more than half of seniors placed in nursing homes experienced some type of elder abuse, due to the poor quality of care in understaffed facilities.
Residents in nursing homes range from elders who need basic assistance with daily life, to elders who require acute care such as providing proper medical treatments. Medicare provides nursing homes and assisted living facilities with more funding, to aid them in taking care of these acute care elders. However, despite the greater pay, nursing homes and assisted living facilities do not necessarily acquire more staff to provide care for these helpless elders. As a result, understaffing leads to neglect, also a form of elder abuse.
It is also a misconception that the more expensive it is for one to put their loved ones in a nursing home, the lower the chance seniors will face elder abuse. Especially in San Francisco, as the standard of living increases, the cost to accommodate a large growing population of seniors also increased dramatically in recent years. A study has shown that the top 10 largest for-profit nursing home chains were understaffed as compared to government assisted living facilities. Therefore, understaffing is a serious problem that shouldn’t be dealt with lightly, because understaffing in nursing homes can result in elder abuse. It is best to gather more information on a nursing home, and to seek the advice of elder abuse attorneys, before placing a loved one in an assisted living facility.
The Evans Law Firm, Inc. handles all types of elder abuse cases, and has offices located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Sonoma County. If you or a loved one has been a victim of nursing home abuse and/or elder abuse, contact the Evans Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation at 415-441-8669 or info@evanslaw.com
