Assisted Living Residents with Dementia have a Higher Risk of Hospitalization
There are 14 assisted living facilities located near the City of Arvin. The Los Angeles Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer, Ben Yeroushalmi, and his team of associate attorneys and experts, are aware that Arvin residents in these types of facilities are vulnerable to poor health outcomes due to a lack of high quality care. Older adults with dementia who live in Arvin assisted living facilities are especially likely to experience negative outcomes that result in hospitalization.
Strong evidence has shown that an increasing number of older adults with dementia are being cared for in assisted living facilities across the United States. Recent estimates indicate that almost 60% of assisted living residents throughout North America have been diagnosed with dementia. Assisted living has been an increasingly popular option in recent years due to its lower costs compared with nursing home facilities as well as people’s preferences for more home-like environments. Yet, assisted living staff still struggle with ensuring successful implementation of integrated care to meet the needs of their residents while limiting costly and preventable hospitalizations.
Arvin assisted living facilities serve older adults by providing secure housing, personal assistance, and limited health care, as well as encouraging autonomy, freedom of choice, independence, and privacy. The care approach adopted by assisted living staff differs significantly from the traditional nursing home and long-term care setting. Although it is recognized that Arvin assisted living philosophy may encourage functional autonomy and satisfaction among residents, assuring that residents are provided sustained high quality care remains uncertain. Elder abuse attorney Ben Yeroushalmi wants the people of Arvin to be aware that factors such as lower staffing levels with a majority being nonprofessional care providers, as well as limited accessibility to important additional services within assisted living facilities, continues to raise concerns that older adult residents have a higher risk of negative health outcomes due to poor quality of care. Assisted living care is also characterized by delayed detection of preventable health problems, unsatisfactory medication management, and restricted ability to enhance care, ultimately increasing the rate of hospitalization among residents. Older adult residents with dementia are especially vulnerable to hospitalization, primarily due to the majority having considerable comorbidity, atypical presentation of disease, and challenges in expressing their symptoms and needs.
The rate of hospitalization among assisted living residents is a strong indicator of assisted living quality of care. Older adults with dementia are significantly at higher risk of being hospitalized and for longer periods of stay—often for potentially avoidable causes. These patients also have a higher possibility of suffering from worse health and functional outcomes during and after hospitalization. Due to the fact that the use of assisted living facilities among the older adult population is increasing and that the risk of hospitalization among older assisted living residents with dementia is extremely high, the assurance of high quality of care in assisted living facilities remains uncertain.
If you or your loved one has been a victim of abuse or neglect in an Arvin assisted living facility, Mr. Yeroushalmi and his team of elder abuse attorneys and experts want to help you obtain the vindication you deserve. We believe that every older adult residing in assisted living should receive consistent, high quality care. Contact the elder abuse attorney Ben Yeroushalmi today for a free consultation.