As you already know, residential assisted Living Facilities are emerging as one of the most lucrative business opportunities for a number of people. Over the past few years, the number of these facilities has been steadily growing and so is the population of residents.

Due to this, there are a number of unscrupulous facility owners who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law for one reason or the other. Before starting an Assisted Living Facility, it is important that you do enough study to ensure that you at least understand the vital issues that you need to be aware of.

That way, you will avoid running into issues with the relatives of the residents or even the government itself.

Risks in Assisted Living Facilities

Having an Assisted Living Facility can at times be a risky affair if care is not exercised. The reason behind this is that you are dealing with a sensitive population who have different needs and who require constant monitoring.

Failure to exercise proper care may lead to accidents and injuries that could result in lengthy and expensive lawsuits. Below are a number of risks that you will be exposed to as a facility owner:

Slips and Fall

Most assisted living facilities will host old people. These people are particularly at great risk of falling and getting injured. As the owner of a facility, this is one of those risks that you will need to be aware of. It is therefore, important to have the necessary measures in place to deal with this.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to deal with this is by repairing floors and ensuring that they are in good condition at all times. Wherever possible, loose rugs should be avoided. Hard floors should never be left wet and there should be clear signs of caution whenever they are being cleaned. Lastly, proper lighting should be maintained at all times, especially in dark places.

Resident Abuse

This is sadly another common occurrence in Assisted Living Facilities. There are numerous cases where staff mistreat or even sexually abuse residents. This is a serious risk for any facility as it could even lead to termination of a facility’s license. In order to effectively deal with it, proper screening is necessary before hiring.

Whenever possible, background checks should be carried out especially for the staff that will regularly interact with residents. Clear guidelines should be put in place in the facility’s policy and procedures on how the staff is supposed to relate with such residents.

Residents’ complaints should also be handled seriously, investigated and if a member of staff is found culpable, serious disciplinary action should be taken.

Understaffing

In a bid to cut cost, some facilities fail to employ enough personnel and this greatly affects operations. Some residents who need personalized care due to their conditions might not get it.

This may put their lives at risk. Understaffing may lead to inadequate supervision, which makes it easy for residents, especially those with loss of memory, to lose their way in the facility. The best way to solve this is by ensuring that you hire enough staff to ensure that residents are well taken care of. Installation of security cams is also a good way of tracking the residents' movement in the facility.

Elopement

This is another common occurrence in most Assisted Living Facilities. You might have residents that are not used to living in a facility who may want to escape at the slightest chance available. To deal with this, you will have to constantly monitor their movement in a facility. This can be done by using security cams and employing enough staff.

Transportation

There are instances where unauthorized transportation in and out of a facility may occur. There have been reported cases where residents have been kidnapped right inside a facility or where they are taken away from the facility by other members of the family without the consent of their contact person.

To avoid this, there should be a clear channel of communication and a well-outlined procedure on how transportation should occur. Only staff members should be permitted to transport a resident from the facility after approval has been granted.

The highlighted points above are some of the risks that any Assisted Living Facility owner should be aware of. While they are real risks that one will constantly have to deal with, making the necessary plans to counter them will go a long way in preventing them from happening.

As a cautionary measure, it is always good to ensure that your facility is insured so that in the event that you are sued and there are some damages that require to be paid, your insurance company will take care of it.