Nursing Homes may be at unique risk for outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease. Multiple chronic diseases and functional impairments, as well as common air, food, water, and medical care, heighten the potential for an outbreak, as do prolonged lengths of stay, limited diagnostic facilities, and poorly developed infection-control programs.[
Among epidemic illnesses, outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease may be particularly severe. A variety of characteristics of the nursing home and its residents predispose to serious gastrointestinal infection. One review of such outbreaks identified a variety of factors placing this population at risk. Age-related (or medication-induced) achlorhydria and high rates of antibiotic usage, which alter the normal protective gastrointestinal flora, increase rates of infection and colonization. Additionally, dementia, incontinence, and psychosis, present in high rates in long-term care facilities, as well as crowded communal living conditions, facilitate behavioral patterns that allow person-to-person transmission of gastrointestinal pathogens. These risk factors create the potential for the occurrence of severe outbreaks, including wrongful death.
Although elderly residents are awarded certain nursing home rights, some facilities, either unknowingly or intentionally, may violate these basic rights. If you suspect your loved one is being abused in a nursing home or otherwise deprived of their nursing home resident rights, such as bed sores, dehydration, malnutrition, infection, under staffing, physical abuse, you should immediately contact us toll free at 1.866.999.9085 or on-line at www.thepecklawgroup.com for a free thorough case review and evaluation. This case review is being offered at no cost and shall help determine whether you should take legal action on behalf of your elder / dependent adult loved one. We Will Help You!!
