June 25, 2008
Declining Health in Nursing Home Residents - PART 3
ILLINOIS NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE LAWYERS Help Family Members Ensure Quality Care For Loved Ones
In the previous post, our Chicago nursing home abuse attorney has explained the importance of recognizing declining health, and the actions you should take to help improve the situation. Here are a few more tips.
If your loved one in a nursing home has not already assigned you or another family member as healthcare power of attorney, now is the time to get it done. The facility should have forms readily available, but if not, try searching for a free Healthcare POA form online to download and print. Should your loved one reach a state in which she can no longer speak for herself or make her own medical decisions, you will need such a document to speak on her behalf and obtain medical records. Even if she is in perfect condition to act on her own behalf at this moment, remember, health and welfare can decline at any time. Many times it is unexpected, and achingly swift.
Finally, the best thing a family member can do to ensure adequate and timely care is given to their loved one is to become informed as to what specific services are planned by facility staff in the course of daily care, and to become involved and ENGAGED in the process.
To review the points described by our Illinois nursing home neglect attorney in the previous posts: when a resident’s mental or physical status changes, a new care plan assessment must occur as a means of addressing those changes proactively. New goals and service requirements MUST be enacted in a timely and beneficial manner. A care plan assessment is a document of accountability, and perhaps your most important tool at present, as well as in the future.
For a more detailed outline of what you can, and should expect from a care plan assessment, contact a Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Attorney who specializes in these types of cases in Illinois. Nursing home neglect and abuse can often be prevented by proper education and involvement on the part of families — which is why dedicated Illinois nursing home negligence lawyers choose to become so actively involved.
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