Why Are Nursing Home Conditions so Poor?

Jeff Rasansky

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 520

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Nursing homes are responsible for some of the worst living conditions and abuse in the country. We have reported on several stories where residents have been put through some terrible conditions at these facilities. Take, for example, the story of 54-year-old resident Karen Preston who left the home where she was being cared for, stumbled into the woods and fell repeatedly and then finally sat down next to a tree. She was found two days later by police, frozen to death. The cause of death was ruled to be hypothermia. How on Earth could this happen??

Residents of nursing homes can be subjected to neglect and horrible living situations. Inspection reports of nursing homes in New York’s Hudson valley show that residents are at a significant risk for injury, illness and even death due to carelessness by operators and staff. Inspections at 22 adult homes in the area revealed 846 violations that were found to directly affect the safety of its residents. Documents show that some residents were left to sit in soiled clothes and were subjected to physical and verbal abuse.

Why do these facilities take such poor care of their residents? We aren’t saying that they all are guilty of this, but certainly many are. To answer that question you have to look deeper than just poor staffing and management. You have to look at government regulations and appropriation of funds. Just where exactly does the money go?