Another instance of poor care related to low staffing levels, which threatened not only my daughter's dignity but also her life occurred in January of 1999 when my daughter had the flu. When she rang the call bell for help with vomiting no one came, her roommate found her choking on her own vomit. Only after her roommate screamed for help did anyone come. The result - aspiration pneumonia, which required many weeks of expensive medication. Low staffing levels affect professional nurses in nursing homes as well.
Nurses are so overworked, that important issues are overlooked.
For example, the overloaded nurses at my daughter's facility failed to notify the doctor that my daughter was not being fed by mouth anymore and needed more calories through the feeding tube. Her daily calorie intake of 600 caused malnutrition. After this, I left my job to watch over my daughter's care. Also, the nurses did not have time to always check the position of the G-Tube or to make sure it was taped in place. My daughter has had six emergency room visits because the G-Tube migrated into her stomach, causing vomiting, severe pain and more aspiration.