HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kapp, M B Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kapp, M B Topic Collections Relevant Articles

"At least Mom will be safe there": the role of resident safety in nursing home quality

Correspondence to:
M B Kapp, Office of Geriatric Medicine & Gerontology, Wright State University School of Medicine, Box 927, Dayton, OH 45401-0927, USA;
marshall.kapp{at}wright.edu

ABSTRACT
When family members admit a loved one to a nursing home, they expect that the facility will assure the physical safety of the residents. However, this does not always occur. Safety concerns persisting in at least some modern American nursing homes involve adverse drug events, injurious falls, pressure ulcers, problems with tube feeding, faulty communications or other breakdowns during transfer to or from hospital, and equipment breakdowns or mix-ups. The adversarial legal, economic, political, and media environment surrounding the US nursing home industry poses serious practical impediments to alleviating these safety concerns more effectively. However, resident safety comprises only one part of the larger quality improvement picture in the nursing home context. While the threat of negative legal repercussions may be necessary to address safety issues, a fuller concern about improving the quality of care and quality of life for nursing home residents will also involve the development and implementation of a combination of positive incentives for facilities to do better.

Keywords: nursing homes; patient safety; quality of care

Relevant Articles

Rights, risks, and autonomy: a new interpretation of falls in nursing homes

A Ryan
Qual. Saf. Health Care 2003 12: 166-167. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. M. Hughes and K. L. Lapane Nurses' and nursing assistants' perceptions of patient safety culture in nursing homes Int. J. Qual. Health Care, August 1, 2006; 18(4): 281 - 286. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A Ryan Rights, risks, and autonomy: a new interpretation of falls in nursing homes Qual. Saf. Health Care, June 1, 2003; 12(3): 166 - 167. [Full Text]