In New York state, a key to nursing home residents receiving proper care and being in a safe environment may hinge on the proper staff being in place. Hiring the wrong people or not having a full staff to care for the residents’ needs can cause a litany of problems.
This includes residents not getting the medication they need, not being fed, failure to keep them clean or leaving them vulnerable to various forms of abuse. In New York, there are minimum staffing requirements that must be met.
Unfortunately, a significant number of nursing homes are not meeting those requirements. People who have been mistreated or have a loved one who they believe was abused or neglected should consider staffing as a possible cause to investigate as part of a legal claim.
Facilities are not adhering to the rules for nursing home staff
In New York, nursing homes must have sufficient staff to give each patient three and a half hours of care each day. Three quarters of these facilities fail to meet that threshold. The law is also impacting how much owners can profit with 70% of the revenue required to go toward patient care. Forty percent of that must go to staff.
This law went into effect during the health crisis as the pandemic was impacting nursing home residents to a worrying degree. Now, if the facilities are not meeting the standards, they can be hit with substantial fines. The law has only been in effect for less than one year and started being enforced in December of 2022. No nursing homes have been fined yet.
Because nursing homes in the state are often facing abuse and neglect claims where patients are mistreated; do not get the proper care; become ill, injured and even lose their lives, there is extensive scrutiny on how these facilities operate. Several lawsuits were filed by the New York State Attorney General alleging nursing home operators are committing fraud while not adequately caring for residents.
If nursing home abuse may be happening, legal guidance can be essential
Nursing home abuse, neglect and negligence can happen for many reasons. One is the lack of oversight from the entities that own the facilities. People who think their loved one was injured, suffered a worsened condition or even lost their lives due to wrongdoing by staff members should know how to hold the nursing home accountable. Contacting professionals who can recognize the signs and accrue evidence might help with a successful legal case.
