Elder Law

Resident Choking Remains Dangerous Nursing Home Risk

By Levin & Perconti

Yesterday we discussed the importance of proper nutrition at nursing homes. It is vital to remember the basic needs of all of those in nursing homes, and that is highlighted over the next several days during the Consumer Voice sponsored Residents Rights Week.

When thinking about food service at nursing homes, it is also important to remember another dangerous threat for many: choking. This basic concern poses an especially harmful risk for those in many nursing homes who have physical deficiencies which make it difficult to fully swallow certain foods.

There are severe consequences for failing to prevent choking. When a resident is unable to swallow, oxygen is deprived from the brain. That deprivation can cause severe brain damage and even death.

For that reason, it is important for nursing home staff members to provide close supervision to those residents who pose a risk for choking. There are times when choking accidents are purely that?accidental. However, in many instances the choking could have been prevented with proper oversight by nursing home staff members. For many vulnerable seniors and their families, that oversight is exactly what brought them to choose to live in these facilities in the first place.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti understand the vulnerability of many seniors who live at these long-term care facilities. We have been involved in cases of nursing home choking where neglect was the real cause. That inadequate service often comes from improper oversight during mealtimes or from feeding certain residents the wrong food. In each of those cases, it is imperative that the negligent facility be held responsible for its errors and take steps to correct future problems.

Click Here to learn more about Residents Rights Week 2010.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 05, 2010 (boomark / email).