With COVID-19 outbreaks dropping by close to 90% in nursing homes since winter, more and more of these facilities have gradually opened for in-person visits but with many safety measures in place. Your father is a nursing home resident, and you know that the isolation and separation from the family has had a detrimental effect on him.
It has been more than a year since most of your family have seen him in person. No birthday or Father’s Day celebrations and no visits. Now, you have more access. However, you observe a significant difference in your father. A much gaunter frame and more emptiness in his eyes. Is this normal during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic? Perhaps. However, then you spot the bedsores on his feet. Your suspicions of abuse grow even more.
Potential complications from this ailment
Although many nursing homes were closed for so long, violations and abuse likely continued to occur. Fewer inspections meant fewer opportunities to discover that abuse. And this upsets your family, especially after you suspect abuse and neglect after sighting the bedsores.
Bedsores are a strong sign of mistreatment due to the lack of care as well as poorly trained nursing home staff members. The ailment can occur on people who are bedridden or confined to a wheelchair, leading to a variety of medical complications such as infections and sepsis.
- The back
- Shoulder blades
- Buttocks
- Back of someone’s head
- Heels and ankles
A person may have bedsores without even realizing it. Vulnerable nursing home residents such as your father often are among the people who suffer from this ailment. If signs of bedsores are present on nursing home residents, you cannot rule out neglect and abuse from the staff.