"Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD." -Leviticus 19:32 NIV

Old age ain't for sissies—especially if you happen to be living in one of America's 15,000 nursing homes.

While there are some fine facilities for the long term care of the elderly, many nursing homes have become dangerous places for the residents who live there. I know because I have seen their suffering up close and personal. As a trial lawyer, I represent many victims of abuse and neglect in nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

A recent Department of Health and Human Services report found that 94% of America's nursing homes have been cited for violating federal health and safety standards. Perhaps even more disturbing, however, is a study by Consumer Reports that found that state regulators fined only 50% of nursing homes whose misconduct warranted fines.

Pressure ulcers (bed sores) are all too common among the elderly in nursing homes. They develop as a result of leaving a resident in one position for too long without turning or repositioning them. Pressure from a mattress or chair on a bony prominence deprives the resident's tissue of blood flow and the skin breaks down. While "bed sores" sound benign, they are not. I have seen countless pressure ulcers that penetrate to the bone. They are gaping wounds that are often infected and foul smelling as a result of contamination with urine and feces. They develop because short-handed staff frequently don't have enough time to turn or reposition residents, or even to clean them up after they have soiled themselves. Malnutrition is estimated to plague up to 65% of nursing home residents and countless others suffer from avoidable dehydration—all because harried staff don't have time to assist with feeding or to provide fluids to thirsty residents. Still others suffer broken bones resulting from falls and the lack of supervision. Often this occurs when the resident's call light isn't responded to in a timely fashion and the resident attempts to get to the bathroom without assistance in order to avoid soiling themselves.

Make no mistake about it—pressure sores, malnutrition, dehydration, and falls in nursing homes are not the inevitable consequence of old age and ill health. They are, all too often, the result of understaffing of nursing homes and the resulting inability of the staff on hand to provide the care their residents need and deserve. Shockingly, government studies show that more than half of nursing homes fall below the "minimum" staffing standard proposed by the Health Care Financing Administration (n/k/a the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) of two hours of care each day from certified nursing assistants, and nine out of ten homes fall below the HCFA "optimal" standard of 2.9 hours of care each day from certified nursing assistants. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley rightly observed, "More than half the nation's nursing homes don't meet a minimum benchmark for staffing. That means residents don't get fed enough. They don't get turned to prevent bedsores. They end up in the hospital much more often than they should." Continued...