I’ve been reading a lot on safety issues in long term care facilities.  The issues seem to come in six different types:

1.  Residents themselves. Ok, this one might seem a bit farfetched, but it is unfortunately true residents can be a danger to other residents.  Lets take the example of Sex Offenders.  This is such a safety issue that legislation is being put into place in several states to ensure dangerous seniors are kept out of the facilities with your average folk.  Oklahoma is just the latest state to create such legislation after a senior advocate found  “57 registered sex offenders in Oklahoma nursing homes and other long-term care facilities since he began his research in April 2004″.

2.  Viruses.  Makes sense that long term care facilities would be an easy target for a virus.  Similar to hospitals in that there can be sick people there and lots of surfaces for viruses to spread.  Earlier this month, four seniors died last week in a nursing home in Nantucket from a viral infection and several residents were affected by a flu outbreak in a home in Nova Scotia this week.  The CDC has even put out a paper on how to prevent the spread of the flu in long term care facilities.

3.  Safety of Staff.  Are the staff safe?  Just another issue that can cause safety concerns in a long term care facility.   The state of Michigan implemented a background check system for long term care employees in 2006.  The system was developed by Michigan State University and in less than a year of its implementation found “nearly 4,000 of approximately 163,000 applicants were deemed unemployable because of records of abuse or criminal histories.”

4.  Old Facilities.  While facilities are subject to inspection, that doesn’t change the fact that lack of funding in some cases causes old facilities to sit without needed upgrades or maintenance.  Many get shut down every year for health and building-code violations.

5.  Understaffed facilities.  In 2000, it was found that nearly half of nursing homes were considered understaffed and understaffing can lead to “poor nursing home care.”  Poor nursing home care can lead to abuse, neglect, and even contribute to the spread of viruses (flu symptoms not caught early enough), and not enough watchful eyes to stop crime in the facility.

6.  Abuse and Neglect.  The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging reports that in a 1998 study, more than one third of nursing homes “had serious care problems” and mentioned stories of neglect, abuse an malnutrition.

All of this seems scary.  When you enter a long term care facility, you lose a certain amount of control over your situation, which is why most Baby Boomers who are polled state the desire to stay in their homes as long as possible.  Serious strides are being made in updating and ensuring the safety in these facilities, but everyone should be aware of the potential dangers when placing their loved ones in these facilities.