What Should I Ask During a Nursing Home Care Meeting?

When a loved one is placed in a nursing home or long-term care facility, it can be a challenging time for both them and their family. However, regular care meetings allow families to meet with the staff to ensure their care meets their loved one’s needs. These meetings are your opportunity to ask important questions that provide insight into your loved one’s current status, health, care plan, and the quality of the facility. Being proactive during a nursing home care meeting helps you remain informed and effectively advocate for your loved one’s well-being.

Families who suspect or are certain their loved one is being neglected or abused should report it and consult a nursing home abuse lawyer right away. You’ll want to ensure their immediate safety and explore legal options for compensation.

What Is a Nursing Home Care Meeting?

An important first step in ensuring your loved one receives quality care is having an honest and informed conversation with the care team during a nursing home care meeting. These events include nursing home staff, residents, and their families, and they are meant to review and discuss the residents’ care plan to ensure it meets their current needs. The goal is to verify that your loved one’s care plan is up-to-date and addresses all critical aspects of their health and well-being, including physical, emotional, medical, and social needs.

What Should I Ask During a Nursing Home Care Meeting?

Knowing what to ask during a nursing home care meeting helps ensure you don’t forget or overlook anything important. Families should ask questions about their loved one’s current status, care plan, and overall health and well-being. Questions about medication management and the staff and nursing home facility are also pertinent to understanding your loved one’s needs and care.

Questions About Your Loved One’s Current Status

One of the first areas to address in a nursing home meeting is your loved one’s current status. Understanding their physical, emotional, and mental health is necessary to ensure appropriate care measures are met. It’s important to know how they are doing in terms of both their medical conditions and daily life activities. Questions to gain a clearer picture of your loved one’s current status are as follows:

• How is my loved one doing physically and mentally?
• Has there been any change in their health or behavior since the last meeting? 
• Has there been any noticeable decline in their health or cognitive function?
• Are there any behavioral changes or emotional concerns that need to be addressed?
• What are my loved one’s current strengths and weaknesses? 

Isolation can have devastating consequences on your loved one’s mental health. You’ll want to ask questions about social activities and engagement, such as “What daily activities do they participate in?” and “Do they engage with others?” Asking these questions helps to highlight whether your loved one’s health is stable or if adjustments need to be made to their nursing home care plan. If you notice significant changes, it’s crucial to identify the underlying causes and how the care team addresses them.

Questions About Their Care Plan

A nursing home care plan is the roadmap for your loved one’s physical and mental health. Understanding the details is crucial for confirming that it meets their needs. Families should inquire how frequently care plans are reviewed and adjusted based on their loved one’s changing health needs. Knowing that the care plan will adapt to ensure the best possible outcomes is vital if new issues arise. Examples of questions to ask about the nursing home care plan include:

• What are the care plan’s primary goals?
• What is the expected timeline for achieving these goals?
• How are their goals being tracked?
• Is the care plan updated regularly to reflect my loved one’s current health needs?
• Have any changes been made to their care plan since the last meeting?
• How will I be kept informed about my loved one’s progress? 

A solid care plan will address your loved one’s needs, from medical care to emotional support and socialization. Your involvement in this process is also vital, as you understand and will fight for your loved one’s needs better than anyone else. Moreover, with two in three nursing home staff members reporting that they’ve committed elder abuse in the last year, families must be vigilantly involved in their loved one’s long-term care. Signs of neglect and abuse must immediately be reported, and families should contact a nursing home abuse lawyer right away.

Questions About Your Loved One’s Health and Well-Being

The staff should prioritize your loved one’s overall health and emotional and social well-being. However, nursing home labor shortages are an ongoing problem that has escalated since the pandemic. Ninety-nine percent of nursing homes are hiring nationwide, with studies revealing that 66 percent of facilities express concerns that if they cannot overcome these workforce challenges, they may need to close. With the constant issue of understaffing, quality care declines. Questions to ask about your loved one’s health and well-being include the following:

• Are my loved one’s dietary needs being met?
• Are there any ongoing health issues or new diagnoses that require attention?
• How is my loved one’s mobility being supported? 
• Is there a plan in place to monitor their mental health?
• How are emotional and social concerns being addressed?

Slip and fall accidents are a significant concern to discuss and prepare for in nursing homes, with 60 percent of nursing home residents falling annually. Ask what measures they take to assess and prevent slip and fall accidents for your loved one. Asking about specific areas of care and monitoring can help you understand whether additional support is needed or whether the facility is the right fit for your loved one’s long-term care needs.

Questions About Their Medications

Medication management is a critical aspect of nursing home care. Knowing whether your loved one’s medications are being properly administered and monitored is essential to understanding their care comprehensively. The use of multiple medications can increase the risk of adverse reactions, so it’s important to ask how their medications are being managed and reviewed. Questions to ensure medications are being adequately monitored and administered include:

• What medications is my loved one taking (including doses), and what are they for?
• Have there been any additions or discontinuations to the list of medications?
• Are there any concerns about medication interactions or side effects?
• Have there been any recent changes to their medication regimen?
• How is medication administered, and how are doses monitored?
• Who is responsible for reviewing their medications for potential interactions or side effects?

Medication errors are common in nursing homes and have the potential for serious and even fatal harm. The American Journal of Managed Care reviewed several studies involving nursing home medication errors and determined that 75 percent of patients were prescribed at least one inappropriate medication in nursing home facilities. Additionally, 16 to 27 percent of residents were victims of medication errors. If your loved one sustained severe illness or injury and damages or died due to a medication error, consult a nursing home attorney to discuss your legal options.

Questions About the Nursing Home Staff and Facility

The quality of staff and the environment and atmosphere at a nursing home can directly impact the care your loved one receives. It’s necessary to ask about the qualifications of the staff, their training, and how they handle day-to-day resident care. In addition, understanding the nursing home facility’s overall environment, safety measures, and other procedures will assure you that your loved one is in a safe and supportive space. Questions to ask about the nursing home staff and care facility include:

• What is the staff-to-resident ratio during the daytime and nighttime shifts?
• Is the staff trained in managing specific conditions?
• What is the ongoing education provided?
• How does the staff ensure my loved one’s needs are promptly and compassionately met?
• How often are safety checks and inspections done to ensure the nursing home is well-maintained and secure?
• What measures are in place to ensure the safety and comfort of residents with mobility issues or cognitive impairments?
• What are the facility’s policies on end-of-life care? 

Knowing how emergencies are handled and how prepared the nursing home is for unexpected medical situations is also relevant. Ask about what medical services are available on-site and how many people are trained in those services. Pay careful attention to how your loved one reacts when the care team responds to your inquiries. If they seem distant, nervous, agitated, or frightened by a staff member, there may be a neglect or abuse concern.

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse 

Nursing home abuse can be physical, emotional, sexual, financial, and neglectful. Knowing what to look for can help you remain vigilant in ensuring your loved one receives the best care in their nursing home facility. Signs of nursing home abuse that you should be aware of include the following:

• Neglect: Signs of neglect include poor hygiene, malnutrition and weight loss, failure to provide basic needs (food, water, toilet), untreated injuries, and bedsores or ulcers.
• Physical Abuse: Signs of physical abuse may involve unexplained bruising, cuts, injuries, broken bones, signs of falls, and physical restraints. If a caregiver refuses to allow visiting alone or at all, that is another tell. 
• Emotional Abuse: Signs of emotional abuse may present as sudden behavior changes, being frightened of being left alone or with specific caregivers, refusal to take medications, disrespectful language, and the new onset of repetitive behaviors, such as thumb-sucking, rocking, or mumbling to themselves.
• Sexual Abuse: Signs of sexual abuse include bruising or bleeding around private areas and unexplained infections or STDs.
• Financial Abuse: Signs of financial abuse often involve missing belongings, unexplained bank withdrawals or transfers, substantial purchases, unexplained credit card authorization changes or charges, and purchases or withdrawals you know your loved one did not make. Changes to their power of attorney, will, or other estate planning documents may constitute financial elder abuse.

If you know or suspect that your loved one is being abused in a nursing home, you must act immediately. Known abuse must be reported to the appropriate state authorities. You’ll want to ensure your loved one’s immediate safety with a medical evaluation and transfer when necessary. Families should also consult a local nursing home abuse lawyer to determine what their legal options are for recovering compensation for their loved one’s injuries and damages.

How a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Helps Investigate Abuse

Nursing home abuse is reprehensible and should be met with legal action to garner the monetary justice victims deserve and deter others from repeating the offense. A nursing home abuse lawyer understands the challenging emotions and aftermath of these incidents and aims to help residents and their families seek compensation for their losses. Nursing home abuse attorneys help investigate abuse by:

• Gathering Evidence: A nursing home abuse lawyer swiftly collects evidence, such as medical records indicating signs of neglect or abuse, delayed treatments, unexplained weight loss, and fall injuries. Other evidence includes photos of your loved one’s living conditions and injuries, as well as hiring and financial records.
• Interviewing Witnesses: Witness testimony can be invaluable to your claim. An attorney will identify and interview witnesses who witnessed or have information about the neglect or abuse. These usually involve other residents, staff, and nursing home visitors.
• Identifying Liable Parties: Identifying all liable parties is imperative for seeking justice, accountability, and full compensation. Lawyers investigate all potentially at-fault parties, including nursing home staff, companies, owners, and other residents or visitors on the premises.
• Building Strong Cases: Nursing home abuse lawyers ensure adequate documentation of the neglect or abuse by collaborating with expert witnesses relevant to your case. They also provide a comprehensive itemization of damages, including economic and intangible losses, such as pain and suffering.

Finally, a nursing home abuse attorney takes legal action against liable parties. Generally, they begin by filing claims against insurance companies and negotiating out-of-court settlements on your behalf. Having an attorney value your damages, send the demand letter, and negotiate your claim usually leads to significantly higher settlements. When insurers refuse to settle claims, an attorney can file a civil lawsuit to secure compensation for your loved one’s or family’s damages.

Consult an Experienced Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Now

These cases can involve many complexities, including unclear liability and corporate structured insurance policies designed to protect company assets by rejecting or undervaluing your claim. Most nursing home abuse lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront costs to clients. Contingency also means an attorney’s fee is contingent on winning your case—no win, no fee.

Schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced nursing home abuse lawyer to have your case heard. You’ll want to feel confident that you’ve done everything possible to ensure your loved one’s voice is heard.

Reports

Nathan Hughey, an attorney and fourth-generation South Carolinian, founded Hughey Law Firm in 2007. Before that, he spent five years defending nursing homes and insurance companies. Leveraging his experience, he now advocates for those injured or wronged by such entities, securing over $220 million in verdicts and settlements.