Of the many ways that nursing home neglect can be prevented, the one most often overlooked is perhaps the most simple. Nursing homes are required to employ a properly trained dietitian on staff. A recent report by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) revealed that the Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Bloomington, Illinois did not have a trained Dietician on staff at the time of their last inspection.
Unsurprisingly, there were several additional incidents at the Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center that may have been related to the failure to ensure properly calibrated nutrition to every resident.
Proper nutrition can add to the health and well being of everyone, but nursing home residents are particularly susceptible to the ravages that poor nutrition and diet can bring. These are the most common ways that poor nutrition and hydration can lead to dangerous nursing home neglect.
1. Bedsores
Bedsores are some of the most dangerous injuries found in nursing homes. Bed sores are open wounds that develop on nursing home and residents who are the victims of nursing home neglect. There are three main causes of bed sores: constant pressure on the same parts of the body, damp conditions, and poor nutrition and hydration.
At first, it might seem that there is no connection between nursing home falls and poor nutrition, but as a nursing home fall attorney, I have often found that nursing home falls often occur when nursing home residents are weakened by poor nutrition and hydration.
3. Illnesses
Numerous illnesses have been linked to poor nutrition including diabetes, osteoporosis, and anemia. In nursing home residents, illnesses can often proved fatal.
Proper nutrition is essential to the health of nursing home residents. Whenever our Chicago nursing home lawyers are investigating a case of nursing home neglect, one of the factors we always examine is the nutritional intake of the injured resident.
If you have a loved one who has been injured in a Chicago nursing home, contact my law offices for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.