William Josh Ard, an elder care lawyer in Ann Arbor, Michigan writes today on the State Bar of Michigan’s Elder Law Listserv that “Old people in hospitals are starving because they can't reach their food. Sixty percent of older patients become malnourished in hospitals.” An Australian study cited by Reuters finds
1) One of every five patients aged 65 or over "could not reach food brought to
their hospital rooms."
2) Most "could not open food packaging."
3) "More than a third struggled with cutlery."
4) "Many struggled to pour beverages."
5) Busy nurses spent barely a minute with the average patient at mealtime.
6) "Nurses would walk past patients who clearly could not reach or open their food and they would just keep walking."
Researchers in the United States as well have found that malnutrition is epidemic in the elderly population in America as well. In 1998, Dr. John E. Morley, a noted geriatrics practitioner and long-term care nutritionist, cautioned that 40% of U.S. nursing facility residents are malnourished, 44% of home health patients are malnourished, and 50% of hospital patients are malnourished. Morley JE, Thomas DR, Kamel H. Nutritional deficiencies in long-term care: Part I detection and diagnosis. Annals of Long-Term Care. 1998 May;6[5].
Later, in 2000, Sarah Burger and her colleagues found that the rate of protein-energy malnutrition in nursing homes compares with that of poverty-stricken third-world countries. Their report, “Malnutrition and Dehydration in Nursing Homes: Key Issues in Prevention and Treatment,” was released under the auspices of the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. This report cited studies saying that 35% of nursing home residents suffer from malnutrition or under-nutrition and she cited other studies with much higher rates – up to 85%!
A free copy of Burger’s 50-page report may be may be ordered by telephoning the Commonwealth Fund, Communications Department, at 212/606-3800 or writing the Commonwealth Fund, 1 East 75th Street, New York, New York 10021 (Specify Publication # 386). Or, you may read it online or download it in PDF format here.
Chapter Seven of Taking Charge: Good Medical Care for the Elderly and How to Get It tells family caregivers what to look for in order to detect malnutrition in the elderly, how to advocate for treatment, and how to prevent a recurrence. Because malnutrition is so difficult to resolve, of course, it is recommended that the elderly and their caregivers prevent its onset. Understanding why the elderly are at risk and devising a good
