Nursing Home Residents Face Ongoing Dangers

A recent incident in a Rockaways, New York nursing home underscores the dangers facing many nursing home residents.

According to a HuffingtonPost.com report, the incident occurred at the Ocean Promenade Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. There, one resident was upset over the location of a plastic curtain dividing a bedroom between himself and his roommate. He became so enraged that he ripped the footrest off his wheelchair and used it to beat his roommate, bludgeoning him to death.

The male resident of that nursing home now faces criminal charges for his role in the beating death as an investigation into the incident continues, according to a HuffingtonPost.com report.

In seems increasingly likely that such events can grow more common in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the country. Based on our previous reports, these facilities have been facing increased budget restraints and often need to make cutbacks, which in turn can reduce the quality of the care they are able to provide to their residents. One problem is that fewer qualified staff members are being hired in favor of lower-paid, inexperienced employees incapable of serving as proper caregivers.

Under such conditions, nursing home residents are often subject to neglectful or abusive care. Questions and complaints made to administrators about the conditions at their nursing home may go unanswered or ignored. That includes potential problems with roommates in some circumstances.