Malnutrition in Nursing Home Residents

How Common is Malnutrition in Nursing Homes?

Due to understaffing, there are a number of nursing homes that are unable to properly care for the elderly patients in their facilities. This can be a serious problem and lead to many health issues, including malnutrition. This occurs when the patient is not properly nourished with essential food and water because the staff is negligent. A large number of elderly patients are unable to feed themselves and require the help of a staff member. When the staff doesn’t have enough people, everybody rushes from one job to the next and some patients go unattended.

Malnutrition occurs for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Understaffed nursing homes
• Failure to inform following shifts regarding eating schedule
• Poor training habits
• Inability to properly feed the patient with cognitive problems

Malnutrition is far too common in the United States. It is noted that anywhere from 35% to 85% of nursing home patients may suffer from malnutrition at some point. This is an alarming statistic that shows how many problems nursing homes have regarding their staff. Malnutrition is something that should be monitored closely as it could result in confusion, weight loss, hair loss, rapid health deterioration, and even death.

If you suspect that your loved one is suffering from malnutrition in a nursing home, call Domina Law Group at (888) 387-4134 immediately so that we can begin working on your case!

What to Do if Neglect Occurs

As the relative of the elderly individual affected by nursing home neglect, you have the obligation to take action. You should verify that your elderly loved one’s story is accurate by looking for the signs of malnutrition. You can then consider moving them to another nursing home in the area, filing a report with law enforcement and other agencies, and speak with a Nebraska nursing home neglect lawyer.

Domina Law Group is dedicated to handling these types of cases to protect your elderly loved one as well as other individuals who may be affected by malnutrition in a nursing home. You have rights and it is important to protect them.