Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
A growing problem
Every year, many thousands of elderly patients suffer injuries and emotional harm at the hands of professionals who are supposed to be protecting and caring for them. Understaffed facilities or undertrained care providers can do just as much damage as someone who intends to cause an injury. The decision to place your family member in a nursing home may have been a difficult one – a decision you made because you hoped and believed that the facility could provide better care than your family member would otherwise have had.
Unfortunately, some nursing home value profits over the care and safety of the patient in their care. They may take shortcuts with staffing, or fail to employ safety measures that your family member needs, or they may even hire people who prey on patients purposefully because they are unable to fight back. If your loved one has suffered from abuse or neglect, take action.
Common Types of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
- Failure to assist with personal hygiene
- Pressure wounds
- Medication errors
- Failure to prevent dehydration / malnutrition / rapid weight loss
- Failure to provide appropriate medical care and evaluation
- Failure to prevent falls
- Injuries cause by unsafe buildings and equipment
- Sexual Abuse
- Emotional / Psychological Abuse
Signs of Elder Abuse and Neglect
It can be difficult to care for seniors with multiple health conditions, possibly dementia or Alzheimer’s, and other varying needs. When caregivers are also given too many patients, such as I a facility that is understaffed, it can create a situation that is extremely stressful for both patient and caregiver, making abuse and neglect more likely.
It can also be difficult at first for you to recognize that elder abuse is occurring to your loved one when you are not in the facility. Caregivers often have explanations ready for things that you notice, and may attribute them to signs of age, dementia, mental decline, and the like. Your loved one may be unable to explain to you what is happening when you are not there, or they may be afraid that their treatment will worsen if they report abuse.
Some signs of abuse may include:
- Failure to assist with personal hygiene
- Pressure wounds
- Medication errors
- Failure to prevent dehydration / malnutrition / rapid weight loss
- Failure to provide appropriate medical care and evaluation
- Failure to prevent falls
- Injuries cause by unsafe buildings and equipment
- Sexual Abuse
- Emotional / Psychological Abuse
Deficiencies in Nursing Homes
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that between 2010-2014, only about 9% of nursing homes was deficiency free when surveys were conducted. Although this actually represented an improvement in the condition of nursing homes from the years prior, it is a frightening fact for anyone who has a loved one in such a facility. In Colorado, roughly 75% of nursing homes are for profit.
Some of the most common things nursing homes are cited for in surveys include:
- inadequate infection control programs
- failure to prevent pressure wounds
- inadequate services to maintain the residents’ well-being
- failure to ensure the home is free from hazardous conditions
- failure to ensure that residents’ medications are well managed
- failure to provide care in a way that maintains dignity and respect for residents
- failure to provide care by qualified persons in accordance with residents’ needs
Elder Abuse is Preventable
There are things you can do to help prevent elder abuse. As a concerned friend or family member, you can watch for warning signs of abuse, and report abuse if you suspect it. You can also call and visit as often as possible, and listen to the resident about their experiences and any concerns they have. You can also educate your loved one about their rights and what to do if they are being treated improperly. You can talk with the caregivers regularly, so that they know who you are, and try to form a relationship with them. You may learn things that can help you advocate for more staffing and resources for your loves one’s caregivers, so that understaffing does not become a cause of injury for your loved one.
Injuries from Abuse or Neglect
There are things you can do to help prevent elder abuse. As a concerned friend or family member, you can watch for warning signs of abuse, and report abuse if you suspect it. You can also call and visit as often as possible, and listen to the resident about their experiences and any concerns they have. You can also educate your loved one about their rights and what to do if they are being treated improperly. You can talk with the caregivers regularly, so that they know who you are, and try to form a relationship with them. You may learn things that can help you advocate for more staffing and resources for your loves one’s caregivers, so that understaffing does not become a cause of injury for your loved one.