As we’ve previously discussed on this blog, Oklahoma Nursing Homes rank very low in terms of quality on a national scale. The data is clear and convincing: Oklahoma has the worst nursing homes in the country. A survey of government data, conducted by USA Today, found that more than a quarter of all Oklahoma nursing homes are of 1-star quality on a five-star scale!
And last year, News 9 reported that Oklahoma ranked at the bottom, at #49 in terms of nursing home care. That is absolutely terrible news for Oklahoma families and even worse for the elderly.
This research begs the question as to why nursing home care is so terrible in Oklahoma.
In this video, Oklahoma City Attorney Travis Charles Smith explains why care is so awful in too many Oklahoma nursing homes:
Profits over People: Nursing homes hire cheap, unqualified labor to care for elderly patients
As explained in the video, Nursing homes staff their facilities primarily with Certified Nursing Aides (CNA). The job title is confusing, because a CNA is not a nurse. CNA’s usually do not have degrees or any type of education in nursing or the medical field.
Why do nursing homes use CNA’s to do most of the work? Because CNA’s are cheap. Instead of hiring nurses, a nursing home will use a CNA to do most of the care for the patients. Because CNA’s are not paid very much for the difficult and demanding jobs of taking care of elderly patients, patients who often require 24-hour care, job turn-over is very high.
So a typical nursing home in Oklahoma will have have new CNA’s coming and going throughout the month. The patients often have no idea who will be caring for them every week.
With such high turn over, CNA’s never develop company loyalty, and often are not paid enough to keep them at the company. In the end, the patients are the one’s who suffer.
Free Consultations and Free Evaluation of your Nursing Home case by Successful Oklahoma City Attorney
If you have any questions about the care you or your loved one is receiving, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We offer free consultations to any one who wants to talk to us. We also will screen your case, evaluate all legal issues, and get back with you in a timely manner, all free of charge. Call (405) 701-6016 to contact Travis directly. If you would just like to schedule an appoint, send an email to assistant@travischarlessmith.com