Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing Homes are profit-driven businesses. As with other businesses during tough economic times, good business practice and quality control may be compromised in the pursuit of profits, quotas, or cost-cutting. Troubled businesses don’t announce fiscal concerns. Cutbacks in hours and wages generally have negative impact on employee attitudes, and in a nursing home setting, this development can lead to mistreatment, neglect, and abuse.
The elderly are vulnerable, and the least likely to complain about mistreatment. When we deliver a family member to the care of a nursing home, our responsibilities don’t end at the door. Our loved one is now primarily in the care of strangers, and that requires us to keep an eye out for them.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prohibit nursing homes from hiring persons with a prior history of committing abuse in a nursing home setting. Those standards are designed to protect the elderly and their families, but they are not failsafe. Abusers come in many forms. Some states require a criminal background check. Other do not. In either case, background checks may not reveal convictions in other states. In some states, non-caregiving staff, such as maintenance workers, are not required to undergo criminal or background checks. In some cases, custodial and maintenance employees have direct access to patients community areas at the nursing facility.
Nursing home abuse can range from relatively mild neglect to extreme danger, and can include assault, battery, and rape. If you have concerns for a loved one living at a nursing home facility, be able to recognize the signs of potential abuse:.
- bandages, bruising or bleeding
- open wounds or sores
- ligature marks around throat, mouth, wrists or ankles
- burns or abrasions
- sudden weight change
- soiling, poor hygiene, urine and feces odor
- sudden hair loss
- torn, stained, or bloody clothing or bedding
- unkept living quarters, or cleaning materials not put away
Emotional abuse is a form of nursing home abuse. Often difficult to spot, the effects can be devastating on the health and psyche of patients and residents. Examples of emotional abuse include: insults, humiliation, threats, and frightening the patient. Instances of neglect include: withholding nourishment, water, medication, provisions for personal hygiene, clean linens, or failure to prepare beds. If you suspect emotional abuse or neglect, looking for the following signs:
- listlessness or unresponsiveness
- infantile or other strange behaviors
- physical or emotional withdrawal
- disappearance of personal items
