Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

According to new research from Brown University, the number of older Hispanic people living in assisted living facilities has grown. However, compared to Caucasian nursing home residents, elderly Hispanic patients are more likely to stay in facilities were the quality of care is poorer. These nursing homes usually have staffing issues and financial problems.

More about these new findings can be found in the January 2010 issue of Health Affairs. Professor Mary Fennell, the sociology and community health professor who led the research, says the most shocking discovery was the difference in quality of care provided at assisted facilities that house primarily white residents compared to nursing homes that take care of a mix of Hispanic and Caucasian patients.

Fennell notes that unlike in the past when most Hispanic families would take care of their own seniors at home, financial issues and acculturation have led to an increase in the number of Hispanic elderly people now living in US nursing homes. In 2005, Hispanic nursing home patients made up 6.4% of the assisted living facility population. They made up just up 5% of US nursing home residents in 2000.

The Hispanic nursing home residents that end up living in nursing homes where the quality of care is poorer usually come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This is unfortunate, as inadequate nursing care can lead to Chicago nursing home abuse, Illinois nursing home neglect, deteriorating health, nursing home bedsores, malnutrition, dehydration, malnutrition, fall injuries, wandering-related accidents, and death.

Hispanic Elderly More Likely Than Whites To Live In Inferior Nursing Homes, Medical News Today, January 7, 2010

Elderly Hispanics More Likely To Reside In Poor-Quality Nursing Homes, Fennell et al. Health Affairs.2010; 29: 65-73, Health Affairs, January 2010

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