Texas Nursing Home Neglect Inspectors are 1,550 Violation Cases Behind

Even if Texas nursing home abuse and Dallas nursing home neglect is reported, what are the chances of the TX elder abuse cases being investigated and stopped? While you might assume that reports of Texas nursing home neglect are dealt with immediately, a recent report shows that it can take months for any action to take place.
While the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services is required to respond to the most dire reports of nursing home neglect and abuse quickly, the government agency admits that it is not meeting these requirements in most cases. While the most serious “Priority One” cases of nursing home abuse are investigated within 24 hours of the call, “Priority Two” cases, which should be looked into within two weeks of a call, are falling by the wayside. In fact, the safety agency admits being 1,550 calls behind currently – a problem that could lead to increased rates of nursing home injury, abuse, and wrongful death. The agency admits that half of the backlogged cases are months old.
The department answers complains coming from 1,200 nursing homes across the state and employs just over 300 people. In 2009, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services received an estimated 16,000 complaints regarding Texas elder care abuse.
To combat the problem, the Texas nursing home agency announced that it will be hiring an extra 35 nursing home abuse investigators and will be tackling the glut of complaints immediately. Despite being asked to cut back on their budget, the government department says that they will fill other vacant positions with TX nursing home neglect investigator positions.