San Francisco Nursing Home Neglect

Dehydration and malnutrition remain two of the most serious and most overlooked forms of neglect in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. While these conditions may sound simple or even mild, the reality is far more dangerous. In elderly and dependent adults, dehydration and malnutrition can rapidly lead to organ failure, infection, falls, hospitalization, and death. For families in San Jose and the greater Bay Area who trust facilities to protect their loved ones, these outcomes are both devastating and preventable.

The human body depends on adequate fluids and nutrition to function. When an individual becomes dehydrated, the body begins to shut down essential processes. Common symptoms include an increased heart rate, decreased urination, dry mouth, confusion, dizziness, headaches, muscle cramps, extreme fatigue, and tingling in the hands or feet. In older adults, dehydration often presents differently than it does in younger people. Seniors may not feel thirsty, may be unable to communicate their needs, or may suffer cognitive impairment that prevents them from asking for water. This makes them uniquely vulnerable in the nursing home setting.

Malnutrition often goes hand in hand with dehydration. When residents are not receiving adequate calories, protein, or essential nutrients, their bodies lose the ability to heal, fight infection, or maintain muscle strength. Malnourished residents are at higher risk for pressure ulcers, falls, aspiration pneumonia, and immune system failure. In severe cases, malnutrition contributes directly to death.

When families place a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility, they do so with the expectation that the facility will provide basic safety, dignity, and competent medical care. Unfortunately, that expectation is not always met. In recognition of this reality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS, identified a category of catastrophic failures in healthcare that should never occur in a properly run facility.

These incidents are known as “never events.”

According to the National Quality Forum, never events are serious medical errors that are clearly identifiable, largely preventable, and result in significant harm or death. Most importantly, they signal a fundamental breakdown in patient safety systems and oversight. In other words, when a never event occurs, it is not bad luck or an unavoidable outcome. It is evidence of negligence.

Articles Posted in San Francisco Nursing Home Neglect

Elder Neglect: Dehydration in the San Francisco Bay Area Nursing Homes

Elder Abuse: “Never Events” – Things that Should Never Happen in a San Francisco Nursing Home