The American healthcare system is undoubtedly changing, moving away from the traditional hospital setting and toward new models mostly found in-home care, ambulatory care, and day surgery.
Thus, the new trend comprises changing bases from or sharing bases with the conventional hospital work pattern for nurses, doctors, and other paramedical employees. In the new scenario, additional non-health and medical personnel—including family members, friends, baby boomers, and others—and personnel responsible for health promotion and management are also involved.
There are currently an estimated 16,000 for-profit and nonprofit nursing homes in the United States, with 2 million residents in total. There are also government-owned facilities.
One of the leading causes of the rise in the United States and other developed nations has been linked to nurses’ growing disillusionment with the traditional hospital practice as a result of a variety of factors, including their demanding work schedules and low pay, which are forcing more and more nurses to switch to other nursing settings, like home and ambulatory care.
Another problem is that most nurses and their families are overworked and preoccupied with other companies, so they frequently have to entrust the care of their relatives to some senior or elderly family members.
The fact that many nursing homes offer many of the basic amenities found in a regular hospital, such as gyms and other therapeutic and indoor recreational facilities, is another significant contributing cause to the rise in nursing homes. Some of them even have pools. Other causes include the many benefits of home nursing in Fresno, including the comfort and security of being at home when unwell or recuperating from an illness.
Medical studies have also indicated that home nursing may be the most excellent choice for improving the physical and mental health of those with chronic illnesses.
Other advantages include patients feeling free, treated with dignity, receiving individualized care, and caregivers feeling independent. When a nursing home is close enough to the patient’s house, home nursing also enables family members to visit their sick loved one as often as they like, giving the patient far more emotional support than in a hospital setting.
In addition to giving family members a sense of protection, security, and the well-being of their loved ones, they also offer round-the-clock care and attention by specialists, something most families find challenging to provide.
A significant drawback of home care is the possibility of experiencing many types of abuse, such as physical, sexual, and financial abuse. In recent years, there have been more reports of caregiver abuse, which has resulted in the closure of numerous nursing homes. These abuses, which can include verbal abuse, physical harm, sexual abuse, or even killing patients by hitting or strangling, are typically brought on by the caregivers’ ire at the patients’ clumsiness, awkwardness, and slow movements. In addition, inmates have occasionally committed abuse, particularly those with criminal records. Over 37,000 abuse reports were reportedly filed in 2008 alone, of which about 7,000 involved the mistreatment and neglect of patients.
Nursing home abuse has been a topic of significant concern in the United States for several years, particularly in California, where some of the most extreme examples have been documented. Los Angeles and San Diego are two additional locations with a high prevalence of abuse incidents. Victims may sustain long-lasting or irreversible bodily and emotional injuries, which have frequently happened. Unfortunately, many abuse victims are physically unable to tell their loved ones about the abuse, and those who have dared to do so have often faced threats from the abusive staff or experienced further harm, abuse, and suffering.
A personal injury attorney can be notified of actual or suspected abuse situations for relief. For example, many nursing home staff members have been found guilty of striking, kicking, and attacking the patients they were employed to care for and keep safe. Likewise, family members who believe their loved ones may be victims shouldn’t wait to contact a personal injury attorney.
Additionally, there is a problem with some nursing homes’ inadequate staffing levels, which makes it challenging to provide for all of the facility’s essential needs, including the washing and dressing of residents, as well as other support services like cooking, grocery shopping, and housekeeping. Additionally, most nursing homes are underequipped to handle some emergency circumstances, which must be referred to hospitals.
In addition, some inmates frequently experience feelings of abandonment, depression, frustration, and stress, which can exacerbate their health conditions. This is because many families are under pressure in other areas, which makes it nearly impossible for families to visit their loved ones in nursing homes regularly.