As the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the country this past year, nursing home residents were among the demographics hardest hit. And the people living in Georgia long-term care facilities were among them. During this past year in the state, nearly 4,200 people died while living in long-term care facilities that had 25 or more beds.
In attempts to better control the spread of and exposure to the virus, many long-term care facilities eliminated visitation by families. And, surprisingly and simultaneously, the inspections of these nursing homes also stopped. Upon discovering this, you wonder about your father. The nursing home’s regular updates about him show a steady regression physically and mentally. Are the home’s administrators and staff really letting you know what is happening?
Protecting your loved ones
That seed of doubt remains. You suspect neglect may be occurring as regular inspections at these facilities have been displaced by a focus on controlling infections. Are they telling you the truth? What are they hiding? Many families such as yours worry about what is happening to their loved ones behind the closed and locked doors of long-term care facilities.
During this period, your family and other families must continue to raise concerns about suspicions of abuse and neglect. And you wonder whether some of these instances will forever go undetected. If ignored, it is crucial to file complaints with the state. And follow up on those complaints.
Nursing home residents, now more than ever, are often depressed and alone. Their mental well-being also has been on the downward spiral. Will these situations improve? Perhaps. Now that most nursing home residents have received the vaccine for COVID-19, the timeline for reopening them is not far away.
But the nagging thoughts have remained. Is your father withering away due to lack of proper nutrition? Does he have bruises that should not be there? Oftentimes, it turns out that families represent the best type of protection for a nursing home resident. Your father took care of you as a child, now you want to do the same for him in his current vulnerable state.