A nursing home resident should be supplied with adequate, healthy and nutritious meals. This does not mean that a facility just places a tray in front of the resident, expecting it will be consumed. Many elderly residents of nursing homes lack an appetite, only eat a small amount of the wrong foods, are suffering from dementia, or cannot feed themselves at all due to tremors or other physical or mental disabilities.
Not only should the food served to residents be nutritious, but the food intake, weight and general health of each patient must be observed and monitored. If the nursing home resident is not eating the food provided, intervention is necessary. If your loved one has a severe weight loss, it is likely that he or she is suffering from malnutrition – a very dangerous condition for an elderly person who is already in frail health. Some of the signs of malnutrition include cracks around the mouth, pale lips and mouth, dentures that no longer fit correctly, weight loss, confusion, wounds that are not healing and sunken eyes.
There are various nursing home issues than can lead to patient malnutrition, including the following:
Those who are suffering from malnutrition are at increased risk of other serious conditions, including delirium, muscle weakness, infections, a higher risk of bedsores and falls, confusion, starvation and death. Any resident that shows signs of malnutrition must have the condition addressed immediately. If your loved one has dropped weight and appears confused, weak, or can no longer walk due to muscle weakness, suspect that he or she is suffering from malnutrition. The facility may have been negligent in caring for your loved one, either by not helping them to eat, or by failing to address the adverse effects of some medications that cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other conditions. Any such factor must be carefully monitored and medical intervention may be necessary. Simply relying on liquid supplements is not adequate to maintain health. Nursing home negligence may be the underlying situation, and it could not be more important that you take action if your loved one is suffering from malnutrition.
Adequate hydration is necessary for the continued health and life of an elderly nursing home resident. There are several ways a patient could become dehydrated, including medical conditions that have led to vomiting, fevers or diarrhea, urinary incontinence, infections, depression or inadequate nutrition in general. Any family member who has been placed in a nursing home must be carefully monitored by the staff for dehydration. Many patients with dementia are difficult to handle, and nursing home staff are expected to be able to resolve this dangerous condition through various types of intervention should it be necessary. The signs of dehydration include the following:
An excessive loss of body fluids will lead to dehydration, which if not treated quickly and correctly can lead to further medical problems or death. The dizziness that accompanies dehydration can lead to falls and injuries. It is reported that in a two year period, over 14,000 nursing home patients died as a result of untreated dehydration. When a nursing home fails to take action to protect the health of a patient who is suffering from dehydration or its adverse effects, legal action must be filed against the negligent facility.
Contact Attorney Joel Bryant today if your loved one has become ill, has been injured, or has died due to malnutrition, dehydration or other form of nursing home neglect in Riverside.