Santa Barbara Memory Care Home Neglect

Memory care homes in Santa Barbara must provide sufficient care to residents. In many cases, memory care homes are places where seniors who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, can receive assistance with a wide range of needs and where they are safe and healthy. However, passive neglect can occur often at memory care homes, and seniors at these facilities can also be subject to physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. If you are concerned about injuries a loved one has sustained at a memory care home in Southern California, you should speak with a Santa Barbara memory care home neglect lawyer today.

Understanding the differences among the various types of facilities for older adults in Southern California can be confusing. There are many different terms that are used to describe particular types of assisted-living facilities or residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). Sometimes you will simply see these facilities identified as assisted-living facilities or RCFEs, and sometimes you might see them identified as board and care homes or as memory care homes. While all of these are names for facilities that provide certain forms of assistance, the term “memory care home” tends to identify a specific kind of assisted-living facility for seniors who have dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease, or other types of cognitive impairment. It is important to be clear that these facilities are distinct from nursing homes, where seniors can receive medical care.

At memory care homes and other assisted-living facilities, staff members do not provide medical care but instead assist with what is known as “activities of daily living,” or ADLs. Those include, for example:

• Assistance with bathing;
• Assistance with meals;
• Assistance with getting dressed;
• Help with mobility, including providing transportation;
• Supervising residents who need it; and
• Assistance administering a resident’s medicine.

The Alzheimer’s Association underscores that older adults, especially those with dementia, can be at risk of many forms of abuse and neglect. At memory care homes, it is critical to learn about signs and symptoms of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, as well as passive neglect. Common symptoms may include but are not limited to:

• Injuries from wandering or elopement;
• Unexplained broken bones, bruises, cuts, welts, burns, bleeding, or restraint marks;
• Sudden loss of interest in activities;
• Expressions of fear regarding a specific staff member;
• Unexplained sexually transmitted infections;
• Unkempt appearance or room; and
• Infections that have gone untreated, including bed sores.

Memory care homes in Santa Barbara are supposed to provide quality care for older adults, especially those with cognitive impairments resulting from Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. If you have any concerns about the safety or well-being of a loved one in a memory care home or another assisted-living facility, or if you need to have a lawyer assess a case involving injuries at a memory care home, our firm is here to help. Do not hesitate to reach out to one of the experienced and compassionate Santa Barbara memory care home neglect attorneys at our firm. Contact the Southern California Nursing Home Law Group today for more information.