According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, there were more than 16,000 nursing homes across the U.S. as of 2010. Such facilities age some of the most vulnerable members of our society, the elderly and disabled. All too often, nursing home residents in West Virginia, and throughout the country, are mistreated by those who they, and their families, have entrusted with their care. However, there are things that people can do to help protect their loved ones from nursing home abuse and neglect.
Recognize the indicators
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse, nursing home abuse may include physical, psychological or sexual abuse, as well as gross neglect. The signs of physical and sexual abuse are somewhat easy to identify. Unexplainable injuries, such as bruises, broken bones, cuts and scrapes may indicate that a nursing home resident is being mistreated. Some other common signs of nursing home abuse include the following:
• Poor personal hygiene
• The development of bed sores
• Unusual dehydration or malnutrition
• Unattended medical needs
• Abnormal withdrawal from normal activities
By recognizing the indicators of abuse, people may be able to identify mistreatment early. This may help them to prevent it from continuing, or happening to any other nursing home residents.
Call and visit often
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As the National Center on Elder Abuse points out, calling and visiting loved ones who reside in nursing homes may help people prevent them from being mistreated.
During these calls and visits, people should ask their family members how they are doing, and ensure that their needs are being met. Additionally, it is helpful for people to vary the days and times when they visit. This may help ensure that nursing home staff are not able to take steps to hide signs that they have abused a resident. By staying involved in their loved ones’ care, people may help prevent nursing home abuse from occurring at all, or identify potential problems right
away. Immediately report suspicions When people suspect elder mistreatment, they should report their concerns right away. Waiting may allow the abuse to continue and, in some cases, escalate. According to the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services, people should report known or suspected nursing home abuse to the state’s Department of Health and Human Resources. This will typically initiate an investigation. In cases when the danger is imminent, or emergency medical assistance is needed, people should call 911 to report nursing home abuse. Obtain legal counsel As a result of nursing home abuse, people in West Virginia, and elsewhere may suffer additional or worsened medical conditions, or death. Consequently, they may require medical treatment and care, which often leads to unexpected costs. In such situations, however, the staff member who committed the abuse, or the facility where the mistreatment occurred, may be held liable. Therefore, those who have experienced such situations, or their families, may consider seeking legal representation. An attorney may explain their rights, and help them to understand their options for pursuing financial compensation.
Albeit LTC facilities are designed to benefit individuals with disabilities, residents in LTC settings are often victims of unethical practices conducted by healthcare employees. Types of abuse commonly seen in long-term care ranges from withholding food from the individual, overdosing residents with medication to keep them calm, withholding individuals from activities, physically beating or spanking residents, and the list goes on. There are many instances where residents are verbally abused, called names, and profanity is used against the individuals. This type of behavior from health care professionals is unacceptable, and these incidents must be
According to Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services, there are three things that elder abuse can be classified as. It can be classified as abuse, neglect, or likelihood of serious physical harm. While all of these classifications sounds quite similar, there are some subtle differences. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services defines abuse as " the infliction of physical, sexual, or emotional injury or harm including financial exploitation by any person, firm, or corporation" ("Protective Services For Adults," n.d., para. 4). Elder neglect is "the failure to provide services to an eligible adult by any person, firm, or corporation with a legal or contractual duty to do so, when such failure presents either an imminent danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the client or a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm would result"("Protective Services For Adults," n.d., para. 4). Abuse, neglect, as well as likelihood of serious physical harm are all reportable by law. ("Protective Services For Adults," n.d).
In the medical field, the workers are highly trained to be able to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. Elder abuse is becoming a serious issue in the health environment. As defined in the website, MedicineNet.com, elder abuse is: “the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of an elderly person, usually one who is disabled or frail”. The older population consists of people over sixty-five years old. They are very fragile and sometimes they are forgotten or abused. The elderly can be victims of mistreatment in nursing homes, hospitals, or even in their own house. Nursing is the act of promoting health for others, and of providing care and security with the skills nurses have acquired. However, those who are nursing can also harm, or hurt people by advising them. Elder abuse can take many forms such as financial abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
Of nursing home staff interviewed in 2004, nearly 40% admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward a resident and 10% admitted to physically abusing a resident in the preceding year.[1] Not only are nursing home residents at risk of being abused by their caretakers but they are also at risk of being restrained, which may lead to a form of abuse. With five percent of the elderly population, or one to two million instances of elder abuse occurring yearly there is no doubt that elder abuse deserves serious consideration.[2]
Resident to resident abuse may be physical, sexual or psychological. Nursing home patients should be protected from other residents.
Though elderly abuse occurs in many nursing homes, it is preventable. It is the nursing aide 's responsibility to provide quality and comfortable care, free from abuse. Many people are not aware that there are several other types of abuse in addition to physical abuse and many are not aware of the signs. If abuse should occur, anyone who suspects or witnesses the abuse is responsible for reporting it. Knowing the types of abuse, being aware of the signs, and reporting incidents are all ways to prevent abuse in nursing homes.
Having a group of senior citizens following you around for dinner most likely doesn’t sound like a fun night. However, working at a nursing home doesn’t feel like an actual job at all; I actually enjoy spending my nights at the Grand Residence. Not only has this job given me responsibility, but I also have built relationships with many residents. While spending my evenings at a nursing home throughout my high school career, I have come to the realization that I am comfortable and genuinely happy with pursuing a career in patient care in the foreseeable future.
Many seniors around the world are being abused and harmed in some substantial way often by people who are directly responsible for their care (Robinson, 2016). Neglect of all forms causes harm to a patients overall well-being. Neglect happens in 60% of people and physical abuse happens to 15% of people (Franklin, 2013). There are three different types of neglect that can happen especially to the elderly. The three types of neglect are mental, emotional and physical neglect. Mental neglect, is basically ignoring or just not showing care or love for the patient. Emotional neglect is not only ignoring, but isolating the patient from others. Physical neglect which is causing physical injury to the body from rough handleing or non-supervision. Neglect is damaging not only to a body but also to the mind and over all
Nursing Home Abuse With over 1.5 million elderly and dependent adults now living in nursing homes throughout the country, abuse and neglect has become a widespread problem. Even though some nursing homes provide good care, many are subjecting helpless residents to needless suffering and death. Most residents in nursing homes are dependent on the staff for most or all their needs such as food, water, medicine, toileting, grooming- almost all their daily care. Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful pressure sores. They are often isolated, ignored, and deprived of social contact and stimulation.
Elder abuse in nursing home is a social problem that has had more and more attention in these recent years. “Elder abuse is the most recent domestic violence issue to gain the attention of the public and the medical community.” (Elder Abuse: A Review) According to the Senate Special Committee, about 5 “million older Americans are abused and neglected every year.” Abuse for the elderly can be considered a social problem due to the people who are in denial of it actually occurring, for example, the caregivers and nurses who do not consider themselves to be actually performing the abuse. It is a problem because the elders are put into these nursing homes by loved ones and ones who
Assisted Living Facilities abuse is a frequently occurring problem in our society (Hamilton). There are diverse categories of abuse that transpire in Assisted Living Facilities which are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, abandonment, and financial abuse. Samples of physical abuse would be hitting or beating the elders with an object or their hand, force feeding them or pulling their hands. Sexual abuse is the Assisted Living Facility employees having sexual acts with non-consenting patients. Emotional abuse is the employees saying things verbally to torment the patient. Neglect would be the employee does not take care of the patients such as providing hygiene. Abandonment occurs when leaving patients to fend for themselves. Financial abuse is when the patient’s family pays for the services that were not taken care of. “Elder abuse is fast becoming one of the uppermost law enforcement tasks of the next century, “said Paul Hodge who investigates crime against the elderly (Gonzalez). Since abuse occurs throughout assisted living facilities, state and federal governments should establish a type of punishment such as sending for employees to prison, ways to prevent abusing elderly’s is by inspecting employees ' criminal records, qualified staff, reporting injuries, having surveillance of the areas that do not affect patients privacy, promoting continuous family visits, and shortage of staffing.
Tapping Useful Long Term Care Resources By scott lavik Mar 9, 2012 Long term care is going to be inevitable for most Americans who are moving towards the age of retirement, so while they are able-bodied they need to plan their future. If they wait for the day they can't get up from bed anymore before starting their plan, it will be too late to look into helpful long term care resources.
In today’s society people are living longer and the healthcare of the geriatric population is becoming a concern especially with the baby boomers beginning to reach the age of 65. According to the Nursing Home Data Compendium 2013, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) there are approximately 1.3 million residents residing in Nursing Home facilities. The residents who require nursing home care for gerontological and psychiatric problems can be very challenging. Nursing care is enforced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) based upon the regulation found in the Nursing Home Reform Act which governs the quality of care, provision of services and Bill of Rights for the Residents in nursing homes.
Most practices of abuse of the elderly and elderly neglects are not practiced at residential area and nursing homes. Occasionally reports that are weird of staff that practice abusive actions to their residents who sexually and physically abuses other residents. Although this kind of abuse is very common, the vast of a lot of older people live in the nursing homes and other settings of residents have their emotional and physical needs met completely with no doubts of being submitted to
Elder abuse should be criminalised in India to give extra legal protection the older people. The global population of people aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 900 million in 2015 to about 2 billion in 2050 (1). The older population is increasing at twice the rate and so is increasing the abuse against them. In many part of the world the laws are being revised for the protection of the older, but the crime is still as it is, before discussing on elder abuse should be criminalise one should know what exactly elder abuse is?