When families can no longer care for elderly loved ones, they rely on nursing home facilities to provide the best possible care for aging people and also for people with disabilities. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, nursing home staff duties include dispensing medication and keeping patients clean and safe from dangerous conditions such as wet floors.
The Philadelphia Nursing Home in Philadelphia, is currently under scrutiny by critics due to alleged unsafe and inadequate living conditions at the facility. According to an elderly man, his experience living in this city-owned, privately managed nursing home facility was like living in a jail where meals were never served on a regular schedule.
A woman whose son was admitted to the same nursing home facility after being shot recalled that it smelled of urine and that her son’s clothing never appeared to be clean, clearly indicating that her son was not bathed regularly. She also added that meals were left where her disabled son could not even reach them.
The Philadelphia Nursing Home facility is funded by city taxes and Medicaid reimbursement. It is most important that public nursing facilities provide reasonable care for their patients. Failure to do so can further harm the patient’s condition, leading to a more serious illness or perhaps death.
Local residents with loved ones abused or injured while patients in a nursing home must consider negligence as a possible cause. Family members can investigate to gather substantial evidence to support their claim or they can seek help from a Philadelphia personal injury attorney. After gathering sufficient information, a family can file a personal injury claim to compensate for any losses suffered by their injured loved one. A lawsuit will also increase the public’s awareness about the facility’s conditions and send a message to nursing home owners and staff who do not put patient health and safety first.
Source: Philly.com, “Critics renew push to close Philadelphia Nursing Home,” Will Bunch, April 28, 2014