You depend on the nursing home to take appropriate care of your loved one. Unfortunately, the nursing home staff may let you down.

What you need to understand about nursing homes is that they are one of the only for-profit institutions within the healthcare industry. This can be dangerous, as these facilities start to focus more on the bottom line than the safety of nursing home residents.

In an effort to save on costs, many nursing homes in New York and throughout the country pay low salaries to staff members. The result is often high turnover rates and understaffing. What is so devastating is that in the end, it is the residents in the homes who suffer.

Understaffing and high turnover can lead to New York nursing home neglect, more specifically, it can lead to cases of malnutrition. Generally, the staff should be able to recognize when a resident isn't eating or if he or she needs assistance with feeding. However, if there aren't enough workers at the nursing home, these issues may go undetected.

Some of the malnutrition warning signs that you need to watch out for include unexplained weight loss, increased weakness or gray or yellowish skin. Confusion and unresponsiveness are also possible indications of malnutrition.

For information regarding your loved one's rights in a New York nursing home abuse case, contact an experienced Long Island nursing home neglect attorney at our office at 800.734.9445.