How to humanize communication in nursing homes: preserving dignity and building trust

Customer Experience Consultant in Nursing Homes: Successful communication with families

The customer experience in nursing home or long term care is a crucial issue, both for the satisfaction of residents and their families. Intervening in this field requires a detailed understanding of emotional and practical expectations, but also a certain ability to navigate between differences in perception. This text explores with humor and detail the clumsiness to avoid, while proposing solutions to transform these moments of embarrassment into opportunities for improvement.

The challenges of communication in nursing homes

Residents' families play a central role in the perception of the quality of services. Their satisfaction is based on three essential pillars: transparency, listening and personalization. But while these words sound good in a PowerPoint presentation, applying them to everyday life reveals the complexity of human interactions. All it takes is a poorly transmitted piece of information, an oversight or a clumsy sentence to transform a worried family into a storm that is difficult to manage.

Let's take a classic example: a resident falls a little in his room. No serious consequences, fortunately. But the staff forgot to notify the family the same day, thinking that there would always be time to talk about it the next time they called. When the relatives finally call to get news and they learn of the episode, the reaction is often the same: "But why didn't anyone warn us right away?!". What could have been a well-managed minor incident becomes a source of mistrust.

Another situation, just as classic and yet easy to avoid. One family reported that their loved one's meals were often cold. The remark is noted but falls into an administrative black hole. A few weeks later, the family came back to the charge, annoyed by the silence. What she feels is not only frustration with the quality of the meals, but a sense of contempt for her worries.

And what about generic newsletters sent with the best of intentions, but which give the impression of having been written by a robot? "Here is the program of activities for the month of June..." Whereas what really interests families is to know if their loved one has participated in these famous activities. A little personal touch can make all the difference.

Finally, social networks are a minefield for nursing homes. Let's imagine a photo published on the establishment's Facebook page, showing the residents on a festive day. Nice intention... except that Mr. Dupont's family, sitting in the front row, had not given their consent. Can you hear that siren? It is that of a complaint that arrives.

Gentle violence: banal gestures, profound impacts

In the daily life of nursing homes, some actions may seem trivial but are perceived differently by the residents. We are talking about "soft violence", a concept that includes attitudes or behaviors that are not malicious but intrusive or infantilizing. This happens even more often in protected units, where some caregivers consider that residents, having advanced cognitive disorders, no longer understand words or situations. This perception is not only wrong, but can also be a source of suffering.

Imagine a caregiver who, in front of other patients or even worse, in front of their families, says: "Mr. Martin is completely losing his mind, he doesn't know what he's doing anymore". This comment, even if it is not ill-intentioned, reduces the resident to his pathology and deprives him of his dignity. These words, heard by the families, create a deep malaise and destroy the professional image of the establishment.

Another scene: a caregiver makes a humorous remark about the disorientation of a resident. "Ah, Mrs. Smith, still lost in the corridors! Looking for the kitchen or the moon today? ». This type of joke, although light, can be perceived as a lack of respect and affect the image that the family has of the attention paid to their loved one.

These clumsiness, whether verbal or behavioural, often reveal a lack of awareness or a trivialisation of the condition of residents in protected units. Yet, even in cases of advanced cognitive impairment, residents remain sensitive to the tone, attitude, and intentions of those around them.

The solution? In-depth awareness-raising work with caregivers to make them understand that words have weight, even when they seem innocuous. Respecting the person, regardless of the progression of their disease, is a fundamental requirement. The implementation of regular training on "soft violence" and its impacts, accompanied by discussions around concrete situations, can transform practices.

Privacy: A Delicate Balance

Respect for confidentiality is a central issue in nursing homes, both between caregiver and resident, but also between caregiver and family. It is not uncommon for relatives to ask for detailed information about their relative's health status, but not everything can be shared without the resident's explicit consent.

Imagine a worried girl who calls to find out why her mother is no longer eating. The caregiver must then juggle between the obligation of confidentiality and the need to ease the anxiety. A good practice is to encourage a direct discussion between the resident and his or her family, accompanied if necessary by a member of staff. If the resident is unable to give consent, then it is up to the medical team to assess what can be shared.

On the family side, sharing personal information about other residents (such as roommates) is a red line that should never be crossed. A comment along the lines of "Your dad shares his room with a very old gentleman who is having a lot of trouble" is not only a clumsiness, but a serious breach of confidentiality.

To build trust, nursing homes need to train their staff on these sensitive issues and clearly communicate to families the limitations imposed by the regulations.

Communication in U.S. Nursing Homes: A Legal and Economic Risk Measured in Numbers

Beyond interpersonal sensitivity, communication in U.S. nursing homes is governed by a legal framework whose impact is measurable—financially, operationally, and reputationally.

At the federal level, HIPAA violations are not theoretical risks. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, penalties for HIPAA non-compliance can range from 100 dollars to 50,000 dollars per violation, with annual caps reaching 1.5 million dollars per facility. Between 2019 and 2024, healthcare organizations—including long-term care facilities—paid over 1.3 billion dollars in HIPAA-related fines. A significant proportion of these cases were not due to hacking or data theft, but to improper communication, unauthorized disclosures, or poorly controlled written content.

CMS regulations add another layer of exposure. In 2023 alone, more than 78% of nursing homes inspected by CMS received at least one deficiency related to communication, documentation, or resident rights. Facilities cited for failures in family notification, incident reporting, or lack of transparency face civil monetary penalties that can exceed 10,000 dollars per incident, alongside downgraded public ratings on the Care Compare platform. These ratings matter: studies show that a one-star drop on CMS ratings can reduce occupancy rates by 5 to 10%, directly impacting revenue.

Litigation risk is equally concrete. According to the American Health Care Association, nearly 70% of nursing homes in the U.S. have faced at least one lawsuit in the past 5 years, with communication failures cited among the top three contributing factors. The average cost of defending a nursing home lawsuit, even when the facility prevails, is estimated between 150,000 and 250,000 dollars. When settlements occur, costs often exceed 300,000 dollars, not including reputational damage and staff turnover.

Social media adds a modern and underestimated risk. A 2024 survey by Health Care Compliance Association revealed that over 40% of long-term care facilities experienced at least one compliance incident linked to digital communication—most commonly unauthorized photos, vague public statements about residents, or family complaints escalating online. These incidents rarely start as crises; they start as “well-intentioned” posts written without legal or editorial guidance.

In this context, communication is no longer just relational. It is a risk surface—one that grows with every email, newsletter, website update, or Facebook post.

Conclusion – From Legal Exposure to Strategic Trust (2026 Perspective)

Looking toward 2026, the pressure on U.S. nursing homes will intensify. By that year, the number of Americans aged 80 and over will surpass 15 million, while staffing shortages in long-term care are projected to exceed 500,000 positions nationwide. Fewer caregivers, more residents, and more demanding families create a fragile equilibrium where communication failures multiply.

At the same time, families are becoming more vigilant. According to a 2024 AARP study, 82% of families say transparent communication is more important than amenities or pricing when choosing a nursing home. Nearly 60% report that poor communication would prompt them to consider relocating their loved one—even in the absence of clinical issues. Trust, once lost, rarely returns.

This is where structured editorial strategy becomes a lever, not a luxury. Facilities that invest in clear, consistent, and legally aligned written communication reduce complaints, improve CMS inspection outcomes, and lower staff stress. Internal data from multi-site operators show that standardized communication frameworks can reduce family complaints by up to 35% within twelve months. Fewer complaints mean fewer escalations, fewer legal consultations, and more time devoted to care.

A CSR-driven editorial approach amplifies this effect. By embedding dignity, consent, and respect into the language itself, nursing homes move from defensive communication to trust-building dialogue. This is not about marketing. It is about governance, risk management, and ethical responsibility. In highly regulated environments, words are infrastructure.

At Euskal Conseil, we support nursing homes and long-term care organizations with CSR-aligned editorial services tailored to U.S. regulations. We help translate legal obligations, ethical commitments, and lived realities into clear, humane, and compliant content—websites, family guides, newsletters, incident communication templates, and internal charters. Our work aims to reduce legal exposure, stabilize relationships, and restore meaning to communication in environments where every word counts.

In nursing homes, care is not only delivered through gestures and protocols. It is also delivered through language. And in 2026, the facilities that will endure are those that understand one thing clearly: communication is no longer a soft skill—it is a strategic asset.