Nursing Home Neglect - What to Do if You Suspect Negligence in a Nursing Home

Sadly, nursing home neglect is not uncommon. Even the best nursing homes can hire someone who shouldn't be caring for patients, while other nursing homes don't provide or expect the appropriate training for their care attendants. Learning to recognize the signs of neglect...and then doing something about it...is essential if you want to protect your family members.

Because many nursing home patients cannot communicate, you need to be able to recognize the symptoms of neglect, including both physical and medical neglect.

One of the most obvious signs of nursing home neglect is a failure for care providers to assist in personal hygiene, including unsanitary or unclean conditions. If you would not want to live in the conditions you find your family member in, you need to make a complaint and let the nursing home management know that the conditions you see are not acceptable.

If your family member is not bedridden, you also need to make sure they are protected from health and safety hazards. As an example, if they have a mobility problem, there should not only be grab bars in the bathroom, but also assistive devices to help them get out of bed, out of their chair, and so forth.

Sometimes neglect is harder to detect. For example, your family member may have developed bedsores. In almost all cases, bedsores can be prevented by frequently turning the patient, and you should be concerned if your family member develops bedsores. On the other hand, sometimes bedsores occur, no matter how conscientious the caretaker.

As a result, in addition to noting how often your family member is moved to a new position, look for other things such as dehydration or wet diapers...these are indicators of neglect.

Obviously, if you are concerned about the care your family member is receiving, you can talk to the doctor in charge. However, do not get caught up in the "a doctor is a god" routine. If you are concerned about the care your family member is receiving and the doctor dismisses your concerns without giving you reasonable explanations, do not accept that. Medical neglect is no better than physical neglect...indeed, it can be worse...and poor access to decent medical services is simply not acceptable.

Should you suspect nursing home neglect of any sort, approach the nursing home administration first and express your concerns and your expectations for improvement. Should you see no improvement after having done so, then report the neglect. After all, it is a violation of both state and federal law to neglect a nursing home patient.

Reports can be made to the state health department, your state or local ombudsman for nursing home care, law enforcement, adult protective services, or a nursing home advocacy group.

To learn more about nursing home neglect including what to do about it, you should visit the Nursing Home Abuse Directory at http://www.nursinghomeabuselawyers.org

At the Nursing Home Abuse Directory, you will find specific information relating to Florida nursing home neglect, Oklahoma nursing home care and more information on many other states.

Baby Alive Baby's New Teeth from Hasbro

Baby's New Teeth is a baby doll that gets her first set of "teeth". When girls press the doll's tongue, new teeth appear. Girls then brush the doll's teeth with the included play toothbrush and toothpaste. Baby's New Teeth is also a drinks-and-wets doll. Fill up the included bottle with water, "feed" the doll, and the doll will wet the diaper. Baby's New Teeth comes with a dress, diaper, toothbrush, toothpaste, teething cookie, teething toy, and sippy cup bottle. www.timetoplaymag.com

Waiting Outside the Lines Ch. 3 {Part 4}

Katherine knocked on the Michaels front door, her hair blowing slightly in the breeze. She felt the sun on the back of her legs, and she squinted behind her sunglasses from the glare off the glass. She heard a woman's voice from inside the house before the knob turned and Kat was looking up at Russell's mother. "Hello Mrs. Michaels," Katherine said politely, a smile on her face. She pushed up her sunglasses so the woman could see her eyes. "Oh, Katie, just call me Donna," Mrs. Michaels said. "Come on in. I've just started preparing dinner. Would you like to stay for supper?" "I don't want to intrude," Kat said as she stepped inside and Donna closed the door behind her. The inside of the house was decorated with dark, rich colors, highlighted with bright bursts of color here and there. Pictures of the four Michaels, and different combinations of two or three of them peppered the walls and table tops. "You won't be intruding. Besides, we would love to have you over. Russell said you told him you missed good ole American food. Well, Bobby's making steak," Donna said with a smile as she led Kat through a hallway into the kitchen. The offer seemed like too much to pass up. "That sounds amazing," Katherine said with a grin. "Do you need any help?" "Do you have any ideas for sides? I know we could have baked potatoes or a salad, but I wanted to make things different," Donna mused as she washed her hands. "I have a recipe for twice baked potatoes that I learned from my grandma ...

Jay Z - feelin` it

Lyrics to Feelin' It : [Chorus:] I'm feelin it fill the glass to the top with Moet Feelin it feel the Lex pushin up on the set I'm feelin it through the high that you get from the lie Feelin it if you feel it raise your l in the sky [Verse 1:] I keep it realer than most I know your feelin it Cristal on ice I like those toes I keep spillin it Bone crushers I keep real close I got the skill for this On my back the fliest clothes lookin ill and shit Transactions illegitimate cause life is still a bitch And then you die but for now life close your eyes and feel this dick Since diapers had nothin to live for like them lifers but Makin sure every nigga stay rich within my cipher We paid the price to circular success they turned my mic up I bout to hit these niggas that'll light they life up If every nigga in your clique is rich your clique is rugged Nobody before cause everyone would be each others crutches I hope you fools choose to listen I drop jewels bust it These are the rules I follow in my life you gotta love it Jiggy jigger lookin gully in the joint If y'all niggas ain't talkin 'bout large money what's the point? [Chorus] [Verse 2:] Even if it ain't sunny hey I ain't complainin I'm in the rain doing a buck 40 hydroplanin what shorty (Where you disappear son?) Maintainin puttin myself in a position most of these rappers ain't in I'm livin the ill streets blues got you hunger painin Nothin to gain and a whole lot to lose you still singin fool I'm thorough in every boro my ...

Cam'Ron - Cookies n Apple Juice *HQ* (Dirty)

Cookies n Apple Juice By Killa Cam, NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED, for entertainment purposes only.

Diaper girl Constance

This is diaper girl Constance. Credit goes to diapersFTMFW, the one I got the video from.

Baby Care Basics

I looked at my baby. She looked back at me with her large, trusting brown eyes. She was tiny and helpless and completely dependent on me and on my ability to care for her. As panic settled in, I reached for a few trusted parenting books and started reading.

By the time I had my second baby, two years later, I was already a pro. Here are my tips for taking care of your baby's basic needs:

Enjoy your baby!

Before I dive into technicalities, this is really the key to properly taking care of your baby. If you allow yourself to enjoy her, caring for your baby will come naturally. After all, there's so much to enjoy.  Babies are small and soft and cute. They smell great and when their tiny fist closes around your finger, it feels so good!

Yes, taking care of a baby is a lot of hard work, and you are also sleep deprived which makes things even more difficult, but do remember to enjoy the good aspects of parenting a baby.

Touching

Touch your baby a lot and hold her as often as she wants to be held. Babies thrive on touch and on human attention. Use skin-to-skin contact often, and hold your baby close to you. Remember: you can't spoil a baby. Unlike older children, babies are incapable of manipulating you. The rare exception is that some babies get over-stimulated easily and don't like to be touched. That's OK too. Just follow your baby's cues.

Holding and Head Support

When you lift your newborn from his crib, and when you hold him, always support his head and neck. Young babies can't hold their head up by themselves and need your support.

Caring for the Umbilical Cord

The cord stump should fall off within one to three weeks after birth. When you change your baby's diaper, gently clean the cord with a cotton ball soaked with alcohol.

Crying

Always respond to your baby's cries. Yes, babies cry a lot - it's the only way they have to communicate their needs at this point. As I said above, babies can't use crying to manipulate you, so don't worry about spoiling your baby by responding to his cries. Click here to read more about why babies cry and what you can do to calm them down.

Feeding

Newborns usually eat every three to four hours. You should listen to your baby's cues, though - some babies are hungry every two hours, especially breastfed babies, since breast milk is easier to digest.

Let your baby tell you when he's done eating - he will usually signal being full by turning away from the nipple or from the bottle. Healthy babies, who don't east solid food yet, rarely need water in addition to milk.

Burping

Babies tend to swallow air while feeding and need to be burped after each meal. Getting your baby to burp may prove to be a challenge though! There are several burping techniques. The one that worked best for us was to hold the baby upright, with her head against our shoulder, and gently pat her back.

Sleeping

You can expect your newborn to sleep a lot - 16 to 20 hours a day. However, you should also expect her to wake up a lot during the night. Waking up every 2-3 hours during the night is perfectly normal for very young babies.

To prevent suffocation, place your baby to sleep on a firm, flat mattress and avoid soft, fluffy items in the crib while baby sleeps. To minimize the risk of SIDS, healthy infants should be put to sleep on their backs.

Bathing

Until the umbilical cord falls off, avoid a full bath - simply sponge bathe your baby. Once the cord falls off, there's still no need for a daily bath - every other day is plenty. I used to bathe my babies in the bathroom sink. I never bothered with buying a baby bath. If you're alone in the house, do remember to gather everything you will need close to you. You must never leave baby unattended in the bathtub.

diaper Changing

It's important to change wet or soiled diapers immediately. While there's a valid argument that with today's highly absorbent disposable diapers you can go a little longer between changing wet diapers, I always felt better when changing my babies' diapers often.

When changing a baby girl's soiled diaper, it's important to wipe from front to back. It's a good idea to use gentle, fragrance-and-alcohol-free baby wipes.

Nail Trimming

To prevent baby from scratching herself, trim nails frequently with blunt edged small scissors, cutting the nails straight across.

Taking care of your baby's basic needs is a lot of hard work. In fact, it's endless work. But it's not a thankless job. On the contrary: your baby will reward you by blossoming into a wonderful, happy, secure human being.

Taking care of your baby may feel awkward at first, but before you know it, it will feel easy and natural. Very soon, you will be a pro too!

TinyTotties.com is an on-line retailer of JoJo Designs crib bedding, children's bedding, bedding accessories, and hand-painted nursery wall letters.