Yes, there is always a risk, just like a Maryland nursing home, in ways. Travesties do happen at times.
Keeping a close eye on your father in his assisted living facility is a good idea. Observe for the very things that you would look for in a nursing home.
Licensed assisted living home busted for crimes against residents
As reported by the Baltimore Sun, an assisted living facility was recently the subject of serious criminal charges for various violations and crimes. Those charges included vulnerable adult neglect and reckless endangerment. They resulted from a state health department investigation following a complaint received about the conditions in the facility.
If you do notice or suspect a problem with how the facility is treating or caring for its residents, including your father, an immediate complaint to the health department would be among your first actions.
Note that the Maryland Attorney General also investigated. This is not usual because of the nature of the facility.
Residents locked up, confined, or bound
In this case, the original complaint came from a visiting cousin of an 85-year-old resident. Family members like yourself may be the best overseers of their resident loved one’s living environment, particularly if you visit regularly.
In this case, the abuse was somewhat obvious. The whistleblowing cousin found her loved one bound to a chair. Not all abuses are so obvious, but you may wish to keep an eye out for the same things you would observe in your father were he in a nursing home.
Overcrowding of home In the prosecuted case, the home had licensing for only four beds, yet 16 people were living there. Crowded quarters may be something to look out for.
Also, according to the prosecutor office’s chief of the family violence division, neglect in an assisted living establishment could include the infliction of physical injury or pain stemming from inhumane treatment. You can also keep an eye out for a failure to supply the residents’ their daily needs, including food, toilet needs or even appropriate supervision.
Family complaints can result in state inspections leaving to results
Sometimes neglectful facilities escape discovery at first, but family complaints, like yours should you have any, are key. Interestingly in prior inspections, while the facility abided by its four-bed license, records reveal that there was a noted insufficient provision of food.
Further, all prior state inspections between 2014 and 2016, but for one, resulted from complaints filed with the health department. As such, the adage, if you see something, say something, is applicable when it comes to our loved ones in assisted living environments.