Law firm advertising may be hitting a new low.
I like to watch the news when I eat breakfast, and I must say, Brookdale Senior Living has been bombarding the airwaves with their folksy ads with real employees. Every morning, at least one ad. But the past two mornings, I had the unpleasant experience of seeing a completely different sort of ad, and something I had only seen in Florida over the years. It was for a law firm, and it was asking whether you or a loved one had experienced any number of problems at a skilled nursing facility. An unexplained fall, bruising or weight loss? The worst of it was the phone number they wanted you to call. It was 1-800-bed-sore. Really? Bed sore? I know it is easy to remember. After all, I did. But what I fear is the ambulance-chasing legal environment we had in Florida 15 years ago that resulted in all the large chains exiting the state, all except Manor Care. The skilled nursing business is hard enough, but to have bed-sore toll free numbers, well, I thought we were beyond that. When there is real neglect, those responsible should be punished or driven out of business. But drumming up business? Please.
I can understand your reaction to predatory lawyers, but please also ask yourself if facilities do enough to prevent bedsores. Have you ever watched someone suffer with a bedsore? And yet, year after year, we hear that facilities lose this battle, as too many people end up with this painful condition. Please consider supporting family caregivers who try to come up with useful improvements in supporting more SELF-CARE in assistive equipment design so that we don’t have to use adult diapers/briefs, and our loved ones can toilet themselves as they need. No more sitting in soiled diapers! Or exposed to UTIs because it is easier to catheterize them . . .
Yes, I have watched someone suffer with a bed sore, my father. But you missed my point, which is predatory lawyers using a 1-800-bed-sore phone number in their ads when it may have nothing to do with bed sores.