When something happens in a nursing home, the patient often gets on-site care first. However, this is often not enough to care for larger medical emergencies that older individuals tend to experience.
To that end, rapid hospital care is a crucial aspect of an older person’s health care management, and ensuring quick transportation is one of the best ways to do that.
Distance and mortality
The National Institutes of Health examine ties between patient mortality and distance to the hospital. A study showed that greater distance to a hospital resulted in a longer overall travel time. In studies that searched these ties for more information, one thing became clear: the odds of death grew notably depending on the distance a patient was from a hospital.
Certain patients saw a greater level of risk than others, with the highest level falling on people with respiratory emergencies. The elderly often suffer from this particular type of ailment, making them even more susceptible to death. Things like gender and illness severity, on the other hand, do not seem to have an impact on mortality.
Negligence from nursing homes
Unfortunately, many nursing homes do not suffer from this issue because of proximity to hospitals. Many have locations near medical centers due to the needs of an aging population. But sometimes, a nursing home may neglect to get its suffering residents’ care in time. Even a short delay in the transportation process could end up costing a life or creating irreversible damage.
If your loved one ended up harmed in a similar situation, you may wish to speak to a legal expert about your options.
