Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorneys Discuss the Process of Choosing a Nursing Home

Personal safety and security is your biggest concern when selecting a nursing home for your loved one.  Representing victims of nursing home abuse, neglect and medical malpractice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Philadelphia personal injury attorneys of Galfand Berger understand the importance of choosing a long-term care facility that will give your family member the personal and medical care necessary to protect them from injury or illness.  There are some important precautions you can take when selecting a long-term care facility to ensure that nursing home negligence doesn’t impact your family. The government publication entitled Your Guide to Choosing a Nursing Home can provide valuable step-by-step guidance.

Identifying Nursing Care Facilities in Your Area

The first step in this process is to identify the local nursing homes in your desired area.  Obtain referrals based on personal recommendations from relatives, friends, neighbors, or clergy. Ask your physician which long-term care facilities he or she services. This will allow you or your loved one to keep the same doctor after they move to the nursing home facility. Your town’s local senior or community center is a good resource. Medicare also provides a list of nursing homes sorted by state, zip code, etc.  The Nursing Home Compare site sponsored by Medicare provides an automated system to help you identify nursing homes in your area.

Comparison of Nursing Homes

Once you’ve identified the available nursing homes in your area, the Nursing Home Compare site can help you evaluate them to find the one that best suits your needs.  The Nursing Home Compare site rates the nursing homes on several key factors. The nursing homes are assigned a rating based on a five-star quality rating system that measures performance as compared to other nursing homes.

It is important to review the information on each facility’s health, safety and fire inspection ratings.  A nursing home’s scores on all of these important quality components are indicative of the quality of care provided to you in the nursing home. Health and safety regulations are in place to protect nursing home residents from nursing home negligence.

It is important to not rely on a facility’s rating alone.  Visit the nursing home you are considering.  If you are unable to do so, have a trusted friend or relative visit the facility for you.  To avoid your loved one becoming a victim of personal injury due to nursing home negligence, look for these important things during your visit:

1. Appropriateness of planned activities for residents;
2. Interaction between nursing home staff and residents;
3. Qualifications of staff and resident/staff ratios;
4. Layout and size of the rooms;
5. Facility policies on visitors, pets, leaving the facility for the day, religious services, etc.;
6. Cleanliness of the facility and the appearance of its residents (i.e., well groomed);
7. Proper maintenance and upkeep of the nursing home; and
8. Dining room facilities; is food properly prepared, stored, etc.

Obviously, the age of a facility is not indicative of the quality of care a nursing home resident will receive. It is important, however, that the services provided by the caregivers, as well as the facility’s accommodations, meet the most current standards of care and safety in order to protect your loved one from personal injuries resulting from medical malpractice and/or nursing home negligence.

The Personal Injury Attorneys at Galfand Berger Assist Victims of Nursing Home Abuse and Negligence

The experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorneys at Galfand Berger have provided sound legal representation to countless nursing home residents and their families who have been the victims of nursing home negligence in Philadelphia and the nearby New Jersey region.  If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home negligence or elder abuse, our attorneys can help.

We represent clients throughout Pennsylvania including areas surrounding Allentown and Harrisburg, and many other communities in Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, Chester and Delaware Counties.  With offices in Philadelphia, Reading and Bethlehem, it is convenient to meet with one of our knowledgeable personal injury attorneysthroughout Southeast Pennsylvania.  We also represent clients throughout South Jersey, including Burlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County, Salem County, Cumberland County and Atlantic County.  Contact our personal injury attorneys at 1-800-222-USWA (8792) to schedule a free and confidential consultation or submit a free online inquiry.