Nursing Homes: Are They Keeping the Residents Safe?

The residents in nursing homes are receiving long-term care. They are entitled to a high quality of care. The care providers must comply with federal regulations at a minimum. Several states have more standards they must follow. Nursing homes must adhere to these standards to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Some of these federal standards include respecting each resident, providing adequate pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident and maintaining accurate, complete, and easily accessible clinical records on each resident.

While the privacy, confidentiality and respect of the resident is a high priority, standards must be set to protect the safety, health and well-being of the resident. This is the everyday responsibility of the staff in a nursing home.

Fires are the most common occurrence at nursing homes. Under the Life Safety Code, of the National Fire Protection Association of 1985, " facilities are required to develop and maintain a written fire safety plan which must be readily available at either the facility's switchboard or security center. Employees must be instructed in life safety procedures, and the facility must conduct fire drills not less than quarterly on each operating shift (i.e., a minimum of 12 per year)" (1992, Verona, Nursing home safety: updating the new federal rules). The structure itself must provide an adequate alarm and sprinkler system. This includes knowing which residents need to evacuated and if the fire is extensive enough where the entire facility needs to evacuated.

Residents can get injured by improper handling from care providers. All nursing home staff must be properly trained is the safe handling of the residents. These training programs help protect both the staff and resident. By understand proper handling techniques, the staff can help prevent injuries to both the resident and the staff member. "Back injuries are a major source of worker's compensation losses in the nursing home industry,"(1992, Verona, Nursing home safety: updating the new federal rules).

Other safety-related issues must be addressed in nursing homes. For example, the structure of the facility must meet fire standards. The construction of the rooms must be designed where the resident will not be at risk at tripping falling. These are just a few items to take into consideration to protect the safety of the residents of nursing homes.

References:

(1992) David Verona. Nursing home safety: updating the new federal rules. Retrieved from http://www.findarticles.com.