Elder Abuse & Neglect Law Blog : Seattle Elder Abuse Lawyer & Attorney : Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Coluccio Law Firm : WA Neglect, Insurance Bad Faith

The Associated Press is telling the harrowing tale of some of Haiti's most vulnerable. In the recent earthquake endured by the impoverished country, residents of one nursing home were left to fend for themselves:

On the grounds of the Municipal home for the elderly Thursday, old people lay listlessly in beds out in the open with sheets smeared with excrement, surrounded by hundreds of people living in makeshift tents. One man wore just a T-shirt, his private parts exposed. A woman, just skin and bones, held her head. A body lay in the debris of the nearby nursing home.

The aid that is starting to trickle in isn't getting to the nations most vulnerable nearly fast enough:

On the grounds of the Municipal home for the elderly Thursday, old people lay listlessly in beds out in the open with sheets smeared with excrement, surrounded by hundreds of people living in makeshift tents. One man wore just a T-shirt, his private parts exposed. A woman, just skin and bones, held her head. A body lay in the debris of the nearby nursing home.

The quick end to lives in these nursing homes only highlights what a lack of proper nutrition and hydration can do to an elderly person's body, with people passing from a lack of food of just 3 days.

I often decry the conditions at for-profit nursing homes. But I have to admit that the situation in Haiti is far worse. If you can, please donate a couple of dollars to the American Red Cross. You can do so by texting the word GIVE to 24357 (2HELP). You may give up to 5 $5 donations using that method. 

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Dehydration is one of the more prevalent problems seen in nursing homes. Patients that are confined to their bed have little to no control over their fluid intake. A bed-ridden patient is essentially limited to the water they have within their reach. When the pitcher runs dry and doesn't get replaced, the fluid intake can suffer. If a resident's fluid intake and output isn't monitored, the resident runs the risk of developing a myriad of problems. 

Thomas Gallivan at New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog explains how dehydration leads to other problems:

Although it would seem that keeping a resident hydrated in a nursing home setting would be simple enough, it is one of the most common diagnoses when nursing home residents are discharged from a nursing home to a hospital.

Dehydration can occur if residents are on certain types of medication and/or if a resident has diarrhea. In addition, some nursing home residents become refuse to eat or drink. However, in these situations, it is incumbent upon the nursing home staff to be more vigilant in monitoring the resident's hydration. Unfortunately, dehydration is often the result of nursing home neglect and/or understaffing. Dehydration can lead to:

1) Infection;
2) Confusion;
3) Weakness;
4) Bedsores;
5) Pneumonia; and
6) Death.

Signs of dehydration include dry mouth, grey or ashen skin, confusion, dark or amber urine, low urine output, fever, delirium, and infection. We cannot stress enough how important it is for families of nursing home residents to be a constant presence where a loved one is a resident. By doing so, the family members can observe and react appropriately if signs or symptoms of neglect or abuse arise.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen reports from nursing homes where residents were dehydrated, yet consistently left without water within their reach. These same people, though clearly showing the signs of dehydration, weren't monitored as to the fluid intake and output. Its these simple things that or so simple to do that get lost in budget cuts. We never see the dehydration in isolation. We see it combined with a myriad of other problems, just as described above. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, please follow Tom's advice and keep an eye on these things that the staff may be missing.

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