Poor Hygiene in Nursing Homes
- Reviewed By
Anthony C. Lanzone, Founding Partner
Table of Contents:
- Why Hygiene in Nursing Homes Is the Cornerstone of Quality Care
- The Health Consequences of Nursing Home Hygiene Neglect
- Why Is Hygiene Neglect So Common in Nursing Homes?
- Who Is Responsible for Maintaining Hygiene in Nursing Homes?
- The Epidemic of Poor Hygiene Care in California Nursing Homes
- What to Do If You Suspect Poor Hygiene in a California Nursing Home
- How a Poor Hygiene Attorney Can Help with Your Case
- Contact Our Attorneys About Your Poor Hygiene Case
Poor hygiene often indicates nursing home neglect and abuse. It often results from understaffing or systemic inefficiencies. Staff may even improperly withhold hygiene care as a punishment. If you observe poor hygiene in a nursing home or suspect your loved one’s hygiene needs have been neglected, our experienced attorneys can help.
Why Hygiene in Nursing Homes Is the Cornerstone of Quality Care
Nursing home residents often have reduced immune systems due to frailty, health conditions, and advanced age. They have a heightened risk of infections and more difficulty recovering from them than the general population. Essential hygiene in a nursing home requires the following:
- A clean facility
- Compliance with health codes during food preparation and service
- Compliance with state and federal infection control standards
- Clean, well-groomed staff
- Appropriate hand hygiene and personal protective equipment among staff, physicians, and contractors
- Prompt personal care for residents who require it
Nursing homes should provide positive home-like environments for elderly and dependent adults. No one wants to live in a dirty, cluttered, unsanitary environment with offensive odors.
Residents who suffer the most are those who do not receive prompt assistance for personal needs, such as toileting, dressing, grooming, and changing diapers or linens. Many live in a constant state of embarrassment due to a disheveled appearance and offensive odors, through no fault of their own. The mental health effects alone are enough to cause serious long-term harm, but poor care in nursing homes also puts residents at risk of serious and often irreversible physical health effects.
The Health Consequences of Nursing Home Hygiene Neglect
Nursing home residents may suffer the following mental and physical health effects when they lack proper hygiene care:
- Mental health effects – Affected residents may experience psychological trauma, loss of self-worth, depression, social withdrawal, and suicidal thoughts.
- Infections – Poor hygiene increases residents’ susceptibility to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, urinary tract infections, COVID-19, pneumonia, and sepsis.
- Skin problems – Excess moisture, such as from urine and feces, can cause the skin to break down, leading to bedsores, wounds that won’t heal, and infections.
- Pest breakouts – When not addressed, scabies and head lice are highly contagious and may pass rapidly between residents.
- Foodborne illnesses – Salmonella, Norovirus, Listeria, and E. coli are just a few examples of bacterial illnesses resulting from eating food prepared in unsanitary conditions or with unwashed, ungloved hands.
- Dental problems – Residents who do not receive appropriate dental care may lose teeth, experience severe gum infections, and become more susceptible to malnutrition, infections, and cardiovascular events.
- Increased risk of hospitalization and death – Residents who receive poor hygiene care have an increased risk of hospitalization and death due to overall health decline.
- Did you know?
Infections are one of the top five causes of nursing home death. A study published in the American Journal of Infection Control reports that patient rooms often harbor multidrug-resistant organisms on surfaces, particularly in shared rooms. Residents exposed to these pathogens may develop serious infections that do not respond to treatment. Drug-resistant infections can cause sepsis and other serious and often fatal health complications. Residents contract these infections through the contaminated hands of staff and contact with unsterilized surfaces.
Why Is Hygiene Neglect So Common in Nursing Homes?
Understaffing, poor training, and underfunding are the primary drivers of poor hygiene in nursing homes. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many nursing homes lacked essential hygiene supplies, such as gloves and face masks. Wealthy nursing home corporations often overinvest in upper-level management salaries while underinvesting in staff, training, and basic supplies.
In 2024, the federal government acknowledged the need for minimum staffing standards in nursing homes. California already had minimum staffing requirements before the new federal requirements became effective. Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations requires nursing homes to provide every resident with at least 3.5 hours of nursing care. Despite these requirements, California nursing homes are grossly understaffed.
Understaffing forces nurses and CNAs to rush through care and prioritize the most urgent needs. Staff often place residents who need assistance with toileting, incontinence care, and other basic hygiene needs at the bottom of the list. Nursing home hygiene neglect violates residents’ rights, strips them of their dignity, and causes serious harm to their physical and mental health.
The Right To Hygiene Care in Nursing Homes
The Nursing Home Reform Act guarantees nursing home residents the right to a level of care that enhances their quality of life, promotes independence, and preserves their dignity. This includes implementing individualized bladder management programs to improve or prevent incontinence. Title 22 requires facilities to provide prompt hygiene assistance. The hygiene care requirements include the following:
- Skin care, including prompt cleansing of urine and feces
- Hair care, such as washing and grooming
- Oral care approved by a dentist and access to dental care
- Management of facial hair, such as shaving and trimming
- Fingernail and toenail maintenance
- Bed linen changes periodically, and as needed
- Appropriate incontinence care
The Right To Live in a Sanitary Facility
Sanitation is especially important in nursing homes because elderly adults with underlying health conditions are more vulnerable to infections and diseases.
- Kitchens and bathrooms must be kept clean and disinfected.
- Kitchen areas must be clean and free of trash, rodents, and insects.
- Staff must clean and disinfect utensils or discard them after each use.
- Staff must isolate residents with COVID-19 and other contagious diseases.
- Staff must wear appropriate personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, during infectious disease outbreaks, wound care, and surgical procedures.
- Staff must observe hand hygiene guidelines.
- Staff must sterilize medical equipment after each use or use disposable products and discard them each time.
Nursing homes can be cited and penalized for failure to use proper infection control protocols.
Who Enforces Nursing Home Regulations?
The California Department of Public Health licenses nursing homes and enforces hygiene standards. It performs regular inspections, investigates complaints, and reports the findings to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The department handles complaints involving nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, intermediate care facilities, and adult day health programs. It has the authority to issue, suspend, and revoke licenses. It can also impose fines.
Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can impose fines, withhold payments, and decertify a facility for MediCal or Medicare based on the information the Department of Health reports.
Courts also enforce nursing home regulations. Residents and families can use the California civil court system to hold nursing homes accountable for poor hygiene.
Our law firm is committed to safeguarding the rights and dignity of the elderly, and we have a proven track record of holding nursing homes accountable. Call our poor hygiene lawyers today at 1(888) 887-9777 if your loved one has experienced poor nursing home care. We can answer your questions, stop the neglect, and file a lawsuit against the nursing home.
Who Is Responsible for Maintaining Hygiene in Nursing Homes?
Everyone who works in a nursing home shares responsibility for hygiene, including the owners, administrators, physicians, nursing staff, custodians, therapists, and contractors. Proper hygiene starts with each worker using appropriate personal grooming, wearing personal protective equipment, and following hand hygiene guidelines.
Administrative staff are responsible for maintaining and enforcing hygiene standards in their respective departments, such as the following:
- The Nursing Home Administrator must know the standards and supervise all departments.
- The Director of Nursing must enforce standards among nursing staff.
- The Director of Nutrition ensures the kitchen meets sanitation standards and food is served at appropriate temperatures.
- The Medical Director is responsible for ensuring that all direct care staff, including physicians, observe hygiene.
Nursing staff are responsible for answering call lights, changing wet or soiled linens, and assisting residents with all their hygiene needs.
Was your loved one left sitting in wet or soiled clothing for hours? Perhaps you have noticed them wearing the same clothes for multiple days, or that their hair is greasy or unbrushed. Our California nursing home abuse lawyers are dedicated to safeguarding the rights and dignity of the elderly community. Call (888) 887-9777 now to start the path to justice.
The Epidemic of Poor Hygiene Care in California Nursing Homes
California nursing homes have made the headlines because they are often grossly understaffed, causing rampant neglect. Brius Healthcare, one of the largest nursing home operators in the state, has caught the attention of the Attorney General, the media, and the California Department of Health for pervasive understaffing and neglect in its facilities, including the following:
- Residents left in urine and feces for extended periods
- Urinary tract infections from poor hygiene
- Multiple instances of skin damage and bedsores from improper skin care
- Standing water around toilets
- Fecal matter in toilets and on seats
- Food poisoning due to unsanitary kitchen practices
Authorities shut down one Brius Healthcare facility, Wish-I-Ah Healthcare & Wellness Centre near Fresno, after a 75-year-old resident died of sepsis after a sponge grew into her skin due to poor wound care. However, the state Department of Health allowed it to reopen in 2023.
Brius Healthcare is far from the only offender. According to ProPublica, 97 percent of California’s 1,162 nursing homes have been cited for infection-related deficiencies, and 233 have had Medicare or Medicaid payments suspended because of serious deficiencies.
Our Proven Track Record of Holding California Nursing Homes Accountable
There is no excuse for nursing home hygiene neglect. We have recovered significant compensation for residents who were injured by poor nursing home care, including the following:
- $3 million settlement for a dependent adult who developed an infected coccyx bedsore
- $1.3 million verdict for a resident’s daughter who suffered serious leg injuries when she fell while showering her mother after staff refused
- $1.1 million settlement for an assisted living facility resident who acquired a bedsore through neglect
- $800,000 settlement for the family of a resident who died after falling and developing a bedsore
- $750,000 settlement for a resident who developed a coccyx bedsore
What to Do If You Suspect Poor Hygiene in a California Nursing Home
You can protect your loved one’s health and dignity by taking immediate action. Write down your observations with dates. If you noticed strong odors throughout the facility or multiple residents with visible signs of poor hygiene care, note these details. Report your observations to the administrator and contact the appropriate outside agency.
You can report neglect by contacting the California Department of Health’s district office for the county where your loved one’s facility is located. If your loved one is in a care home or assisted living facility, contact the Long-Term Care Ombudsman CRISISline at 1(800) 231-4024.
The Long-Term Care Ombudsman can investigate your loved one’s facility and must report nursing home abuse or neglect if they uncover it.
Our nationally recognized California nursing home neglect lawyers can help you report the neglect, put a stop to it, and get justice for the harm your loved one has suffered because of poor hygiene.
How a Poor Hygiene Attorney Can Help with Your Case
Nursing home operators are usually large corporations that fight liability. You will need an experienced attorney on your side.
We are one of the nation’s leading nursing home abuse law firms. We have over 75 years of combined experience and have recovered more than $200 million in compensation. We know how California nursing homes operate and what it takes to hold them accountable. We will gather evidence, interview witnesses, and negotiate aggressively for a settlement. We won’t settle for less. As proven trial lawyers, we are always ready and willing to go to trial to get the compensation your loved one deserves.
Co-founding attorney Anthony Lanzone attended law school in Los Angeles and has based his entire career in California. He and James Morgan started our law firm to be a voice for the voiceless and advocate for their right to compensation and quality care. Everyone at our firm has empathy and compassion for nursing home abuse and neglect victims, and we will represent you as if you were our own family. You have nothing to lose by contacting us. We will review your case for free, and if we accept it, you pay nothing unless we win.
Contact Our Attorneys About Your Poor Hygiene Case
We advocate for elder rights with passion and precision throughout California. Poor hygiene in nursing homes causes serious harm to residents’ physical and mental well-being. Your loved one deserves justice and compensation if they have suffered harm from poor hygiene care.
Contact us today by completing our contact form or calling 1(888) 887-9777 for a free case evaluation.
- Fact-Checked
This content has been legally reviewed and approved by nursing home abuse attorney, Anthony Lanzone. Anthony holds notable memberships with professional organizations including the American Association for Justice and Consumer Attorneys of California.
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- Fact-Checked
This content has been legally reviewed and approved by nursing home abuse attorney, Anthony Lanzone. Anthony holds notable memberships with professional organizations including the American Association for Justice and Consumer Attorneys of California.