Appropriate Infection Prevention Standards in Assisted Living Facilities

Maricopa has 14 assisted living facilities near its city that serves its older adult community. The Los Angeles Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer, Ben Yeroushalmi, created this website to inform the people of Maricopa of the risk factors that place assisted living facility residents at risk of poor health outcomes and reduced quality of life. Factors such as low staffing levels and a high number of untrained staff directly responsible for meeting older adult residents’ health needs are strong indicators of poor quality of care that can significantly jeopardize elderly residents’ health and wellbeing. Mr. Yeroushalmi and his dedicated team of elder law experts and attorneys are experienced in defending victims of elder abuse and neglect until the vindication they deserve is obtained.

The growing population of older adults in the United States has increasingly turned to assisted living facilities for long-term custodial care. Unable to live independently, assisted living residents are provided housing and assistance with activities of daily living (such as bathing, cooking, dressing). Although these residents are not given the intense level of care that is provided by skilled nursing facilities, a great volume of healthcare is provided daily at assisted living facilities, utilizing an array of home health agencies and facility-based staff such as medication assistants and nurses. An increasing number of assisted living residents are in need of help with daily management of prescribed medication regimens that are often complex, including those in Maricopa. Moreover, a growing number of these elderly residents are in need of increased monitoring of chronic medical conditions, such as dementia and type two diabetes.

Unfortunately, studies have found that many assisted living facilities are unable to successfully meet the complex medical needs of their residents while preventing the transmission of infections and other negative events that can seriously harm the health of their residents. A significant number of outbreaks of infectious diseases in assisted living facilities have been reported in recent years. For example, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that between 2008 and 2012, assisted living facilities experienced 13 hepatitis B virus infection outbreaks. Nearly all of the outbreaks that occurred were associated with assisted monitoring of blood glucose for assisted living residents with diabetes. Unethical practices for diabetes care that were repeatedly caught by public health investigators included fingerstick devices that were repeatedly used for multiple residents (while not using single-use devices that were auto-disabling) and using the same blood-contaminated glucose meters between residents. Other outbreaks that have been reported include respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, highlighting the necessity for infection prevention practices in assisted living facilities, such as religious scrupulous hygiene practices among staff and their residents, proper environmental cleaning practices, and proper use of employee personal protective gear.

If you or someone you love has been a victim of abuse or neglect due to the negligence or poor quality of care provided by a Maricopa assisted living facility, contact the elder abuse attorney Ben Yeroushalmi today. The attorneys and experts at Yeroushalmi Law are passionate about defending the rights of older adults and advocating for those who have been wrongly treated in assisted living facilities.