Nursing Home Dehydration

Nursing Home Neglect Can Lead to Malnutrition and Dehydration

Your parents provided you with food, shelter, and clothing as you grew up, along with the love only a parent can give. As you watched them age and struggle with the daily tasks that used to be so familiar and easy to them, you had to face the realization that they needed more care than you could provide. You wanted to be certain that they were getting the proper assistance so that they ate properly, stayed hydrated, and took the right medications. It also was important for them to have a community in which they were able to socialize and get assistance as needed. When you witnessed the initial weight loss and confusion, you thought it might be a side-effect of aging. However, as time progressed, you realized that your parents were suffering from malnutrition and dehydration as a result of the negligence and abuse at the nursing home. Although it is difficult to think about as you react to the immediate need, getting legal help for this terrible injustice is critical to ensuring better care for your parents and preventing this from happening to other vulnerable senior citizens.

It is devastating to learn that you made the wrong choice for your parents by entrusting them to the nursing home that abused them, but do not blame yourself. As nursing homes continue to open to accommodate the growing number of people who need the specialized assistance they provide, negligence and abuse continue to increase. It is only through taking action against the wrongdoers that we will stop this disturbing trend. Stern Law, PLLC was developed to give you the resources and legal expertise to hold the people accountable who abused your parents and get your parents the compensation to find the care they need in a different facility.

Malnutrition and Dehydration a Sad Reality for Nursing Home Patients

Adequate food and fluids is critical for the health and well-being of every person. This is particularly true for elderly patients where malnutrition and dehydration can lead to problems almost as soon as the deprivation has begun. Bed sores and pressure sores can develop quickly when a patient has become dehydrated. Lack of sufficient calories, vitamins, and minerals can result in muscle weakness, dizziness, weight loss, urinary tract infections, organ breakdown, including kidney failure, and infections that do not heal. It is estimated that two out of five nursing home residents suffer from malnutrition. Dehydration is extremely common. This is due to a variety of factors, but negligence and abuse have a prominent role in many cases.

It is true that there are many causes of malnutrition and dehydration that are not caused by neglect and abuse. Poor dental health can lead to a difficulty eating that can cause or contribute to malnutrition. Metabolic disorders can interfere with the absorption of nutrients and minerals. Other medical conditions can defy even the most diligent of medical care in keeping a frail elderly resident from suffering from these problems. However, often malnutrition and dehydration are the result of untrained or negligent staff or overt abuse.

Malnutrition is a Serious Threat to a Nursing Home Resident

For patients in a nursing home, there are many paths to dehydration and malnutrition. Depression is a common cause of malnutrition because the emotional stress will cause a person to decrease the amount that he or she eats, or cease to eat altogether. However, despite the fact that this is a medical condition that may not be related to the treatment of a resident at a nursing home, the failure of the facility staff to react to the situation in the appropriate manner is the result of lack of proper training or negligence. Another factor that leads to malnutrition is chronic vomiting or diarrhea, resulting in a loss of crucial nutrients. A staff has failed to properly care for a patient if they do not track the resident’s output as much as the food and fluids that are consumed. In addition, it is imperative to seek medical assistance to deal with extreme sickness in a patient in order to avoid dehydration and malnutrition and staff members are negligent when they fail to do so. Changes in diet may be necessary to address ongoing problems with ingesting and digesting food. A very simple solution to malnutrition may be to offer a different, or more appetizing, dining selection. The failure of a nursing home to take these very basic measures is, in fact, negligence and may rise to the level of abuse depending upon the circumstances of the case.

Dehydration Can Lead to Severe Problems Rapidly

In senior citizens, dehydration and the associated electrolyte imbalance can lead to many different serious problems within an extremely brief period of time. The harm to a patient includes:

Urinary tract infections;
Bed sores and pressure ulcers;
Disorientation, confusion, and dizziness;
Falls and the associated injuries;
Weight loss, especially common if dehydration leads to difficulty swallowing;

Renal failure;
Pneumonia; and
Death.

Dehydration may result from changes in medication, unexpected or excessive fluid loss, an inability on the part of the patient to increase fluid intake, or a failure to recognize that circumstances, including high temperatures, necessitate the intake of more fluids. Dehydration is easy to correct. Implementing a hydration program, including offering fluids between meals, assisting the resident with the consumption of fluids, providing an increase in fluids during mealtimes, offering different types of fluids, and providing intravenous fluids under the direction of a physician all are means of combating dehydration. However, before this can be done, the staff must be able to determine that there is a problem and react to it promptly.

Nursing Home Negligence and Patients Suffering from Dehydration and Malnutrition

When a resident is entrusted to the care of a nursing home, it is with the understanding that the facility will provide water and other necessary fluids, nutritious and appetizing food, as well as supplements and required medications. The nursing home also must employ staff members who have the education and training to assess a situation and determine if the patient’s needs are being met or if there is a medical emergency that requires immediate intervention. There are many instances in which nursing home and staff failings rise to the level of negligence, including:

Failing to provide adequate water and food and ensure that the resident consumes the appropriate amount regularly;
Failing to provide each resident with nutritionally complete and appropriate meals, balancing vitamins, minerals, proteins, and calories;
Failing to maintain an appropriate staff to resident ratio to ensure that the needs of each resident are met, monitor the residents during meal times, and provide assistance to those that need it;
Failing to provide adequate supervision during snack and meal times;
Failing to meet the needs of those residents who require additional assistance during snack and meal times;
Neglecting to provide appropriate and necessary training to staff members in order to properly manage nutritional needs and understand different feeding methods;
Neglecting residents who require special assistance with drinking, chewing, and swallowing while eating;
Failing to engage the interests of residents in cooking for themselves or eating the food provided by the nursing home;
Failing to recognize when a resident has a problem with drugs or alcohol, leading to a lack of interest in food or digestive issues;
Failing to observe and react to signs of dehydration in a resident;
Neglecting to learn about and adhere to a resident’s dietary plan or assessment that specifies assistance during drinking or eating;
Failing to pay attention to the medications that a patient is taking, including the side-effects of those drugs and the likelihood that they would contribute to problems eating or drinking;
Failing to note that a dehydrated patient requires additional fluids during the day;
Failing to notify a physician as soon as the staff became aware of a resident who shows signs of dehydration;
Neglecting to appropriately administer intravenous fluids or change the fluids as prescribed;
Neglecting to monitor and record the fluids and nutrition consumed by a patient; and
Failing to recognize and respond to signs of depression in a residents, which might result in a lack of appetite.

There are few problems that can escalate as quickly as the dehydration and malnutrition in a nursing home resident. Once these conditions exist, there can be a cascade effect of negative health consequences for the resident that may be difficult, if not impossible, to halt. While federal and state laws proscribe a minimum number of staff and level of training in order to protect patients by ensuring sufficient personnel to monitor eating and drinking habits, rapid staff turnover or a failure to comply with the regulations leads to gaps through which residents may tragically fall.

What are the Signs of Dehydration and/or Malnutrition?

Although there are many symptoms of other medical conditions that overlap with the signs of a malnourished resident, it is crucial to take action if a person who has several indicators, including:

Dental problems;
Excessive bruising and appears to bruise easily;
Wounds that do not heal or heal very slowly;
Sudden and unexpected weight loss;
Loss of muscle control or a rapid decrease in muscle mass;

Avoiding meal times or making excuses not to eat;
Confusion, including an inability to answer basic questions;
Memory loss;
Lapses in consciousness; and
Diarrhea.

Some signs of dehydration are:

Extreme thirst;
Difficulty chewing or swallowing;
Canker sores or infections in the mouth;
Appetite loss;
Dry skin;
Red or bloodshot eyes;
Yellowing of the skin;

Urine that is darker than normal;
Loss of skin elasticity;
Chills;
Dizziness, loss of motor control, or fainting;
Seizures;
Difficulty breathing; and
Vomiting.

If a parent or loved one demonstrates signs of dehydration or malnutrition, it is critical to seek out emergency medical attention immediately.

Stern Law, PLLC: Our Lawyers Make a Difference

One of the main reasons many people consider the option of a nursing home for their aging parents in the first place is that they believe that they cannot meet the nutritional needs of their parents. They want a place where caring professionals will make certain that their mother or father eats properly, drinks plenty of fluids, and gets the excellent care that they deserve. Therefore, it is devastating when a parent suffers harm from dehydration or malnutrition while a resident in a nursing home. Often, the injuries that are suffered are extreme and, in many cases, irreversible. The negligence of the nursing home may have led to a terrible future for your parent or tragically caused or hastened the death of your beloved parent. Stern Law, PLLC understands the horror that you are experiencing and we will do everything possible to get you the answers that you deserve. Nursing homes often attempt to cover up wrongdoing in cases like these in order to continue to make money on all the other residents who may be experiencing similar harm. Our attorneys know how to uncover the truth despite the obstructionist tactics employed by the administration of the facility. We will work diligently to obtain compensation for the wrongs done to your parent in order to provide the best possible care going forward. We also will help you find a place that you really can trust for your loved one.

I, Ken Stern, founded Stern Law, PLLC because I witnessed so many travesties in people’s lives where they lacked the resources to take action. Stern Law, PLLC provides those resources and will work with your to get answers and justice for your parent. I am available to talk with you, without charge, whenever you are ready to pick up the phone and call our team at 1-877-469-7273 (1-877-4MYPARENT).