Two New Jersey state legislators, a State Senator and the Morristown Mayor, recently spent an entire day in the Morris Hills Center, a Morristown nursing home, speaking with staff and getting a complete tour of the facility.
I’m pleased to report that according to the Daily Record coverage, it seems the visit was more than just a photo opportunity. The event was called the “Walk a Day in the Shoes,” and was organized by the United Healthcare Workers East, a long-term care union.
I saw that it was more than a photo opportunity because, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Morris Hills Center is not the ideal facility.
Morris Hills is a three star facility. Some might describe it as having many warehouse-like qualities. It has 287 beds, more than triple the national average and double the average for New Jersey, a populous state. It also has almost 20 minutes less certified nurse aide (CNA) hours per resident than the national average. 20 minutes per resident might not seem like much, but when the nursing home in question has almost 300 beds, that’s a shortfall of 100 hours per day. The nursing home is understaffed by over a dozen full time employees every single day.
How rare is that? I’m sad to say that I’ve seen worse. Much worse.
Nursing home neglect has many different forms. The most common instances of nursing home neglect include bed sores and nursing home falls. Although these may sound simple the circumstances that surround them are far from common.
Nursing home neglect is an epidemic in New Jersey, Illinois, and across the world. At my law offices, we pride ourselves on having the experience to manage every aspect of your nursing home neglect lawsuit.
If you have a loved one who has been the victim of nursing home neglect in an Illinois nursing home, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers. One of my colleagues or I will be honored to talk to you about your nursing home neglect case.