Chicago nursing homes have to keep high-quality standards in place to ensure their elderly patients are receiving adequate medical care and community interaction. Patients’ family members deserve to know Chicago nursing homes are doing their best to make their loved ones’ lives comfortable during their stay. To guarantee nursing homes are providing the best care possible, here are five must-know safety tips that Chicago nursing homes should implement citywide in 2023: 

1. Following Medication Management Standards

Unfortunately, many of the worst accidents and health crises that happen in Chicago nursing homes arise due to a lack of proper medication management practices. When an elderly patient fails to receive their daily medication, or when that medication is applied incorrectly, it can lead to catastrophic health consequences. Even when these mistakes are minor, they build up to cause serious health consequences over time. Many Chicago nursing home lawyer firms bring lawsuits against nursing homes that fail to live up to medication management standards every single year. If you or a loved one have been harmed in this fashion, hiring a lawyer in a timely fashion is critical. 

2. Keeping All Environments Fall-Hazard-Free

Nursing homes have to consider many unique health and accessibility factors when running and operating their facilities. All living environments need to be kept hazard-free, especially when it comes to slip-and-fall hazards. Slip-and-fall accidents remain one of the most common, and deadly, nursing home-related accidents that happen across Chicago every year, after all. The cleaner an environment is, the more likely it will be to prevent slip-and-fall accidents from occurring. Additionally, clean environments help facilitate healthier, more comfortable lifestyles for patients who have allergy-related health conditions. If your loved one is living in a nursing home that’s failing to keep its living spaces clean, safe, and hazard-free, you should contact a local health board about the issue. Doing so can end up saving lives, and preventing injuries in 2023. 

3. Having a System for Reporting Abuse/Neglect Concerns

When you’re searching for a nursing home for your elderly loved one, you need to prioritize homes that have a clear, public way of dealing with patient and patient family members’ concerns. If they do not provide a transparent system for reporting abuse and neglect concerns, you cannot really trust them to watch out for your loved one’s health above their own bottom line. When you tour any potential nursing home choice, you should inquire about their current accident/abuse reporting systems, and learn how you can access said system. If they are willing, open, and able to walk you through this system at a moment’s notice, you’ll know that they truly care about the well-being and safety of your elderly loved one. That being said, you should continue to monitor this system for any red flags in the future, just to ensure that your loved one continues to be treated well, and in a respectful manner. 

4. Community Care is Essential for Elderly Health

Moving into a brand-new living environment can be a system shock for many elderly nursing home patients. For this reason, community-centered care and events are crucial for the transition process. A nursing home that lacks a community-centric approach to its care and living standards has a much higher chance of allowing, or covering up, abusive and/or neglectful behavior behind the scenes. Additionally, simply ensuring that your loved one has a fun, enlivening way to connect with fellow nursing home patients is critical. When transitioning your elderly loved one into a new nursing home, you want their mental and spiritual health to thrive just as much as you want their physical health to thrive, after all. 

5. Yearly Training Options Help to Keep Nursing Home’s Accountable

Healthcare professionals need yearly training and professional development to do their jobs in a safe, effective fashion - and this applies to nursing home staff members as well. For this reason, you should inquire about the yearly training operations of any nursing home that you’re considering for your elderly loved one’s healthcare needs. Doing so with your elderly loved one present will help them feel much more comfortable about their new living situation, and can help them feel more empowered to ask for any additional medical or social help they may need while living in the nursing home. The transition process is never simple, but these tools and tips can make the process much more comforting. With these five safety tips, Chicago nursing homes can make their efforts to keep their patients comfortable, healthy, and satisfied satisfactory in 2023.