Title: Nursing Home Understaffing - Neglect and Liability
Headings: Nursing Home Understaffing
Nursing Home Understaffing
Why Are Nursing Homes Understaffed?
Overtime and Exhaustion
Understaffing Effects on Care

Content: Nursing Home Understaffing - Neglect and Liability
Nursing Home Understaffing
One underlying cause of elder abuse and neglect that affects nursing homes all across the country is the issue of understaffing. When nursing facilities do not have enough staff to give each patient adequate attention, it leads to mistakes and neglect. At the same time, when staff is extremely overworked and stressed, there is a greater risk that they will commit abusive acts out of frustration. Understaffing is a serious issue that has plagued nursing homes for decades, and more than 90% of nursing homes are currently understaffed. Studies have proven that residents who live in understaffed nursing homes are at a greater risk of malnutrition, weight loss, bedsores, dehydration, infections, and pneumonia. Families of elderly patients are increasingly noticing this problem and are starting to hold nursing homes responsible for the abuses that occur as a result. Why Are Nursing Homes Understaffed? There are few different reasons why more and more nursing homes are being understaffed. One of those reasons is cost. The labor costs for nursing homes are very high compared to other costs.