1 in 6 Nursing Home Residents Experience Neglect or Abuse

When you bring an elderly loved one to a nursing home facility, it is only after you have every confidence that their every need will be well taken care of.

Simply put, caring relatives vet a number of nursing home facilities before settling on what they believe is the best choice. This is what makes it so difficult to understand why nursing home abuse and neglect is so prevalent. Approximately one of out every six nursing home residents will experience some form of neglect or abuse, despite their families’ best intentions.

Spotting Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

You may visit your elderly relatives on a regular basis, but if they reside in a nursing home, you may not be aware of everything that goes on. The risk for nursing home abuse and neglect can go up when indigent residents are involved. Elderly patients who cannot speak or care for themselves are vulnerable and fully incapable of reporting cases of abuse. Involved relatives must be proactive about spotting the signs of abuse and neglect, and then acting upon their suspicions. For some nursing home residents suffering from abuse and neglect, conditions can continue for years if their relatives do not visit them regularly or fail to take notice.

How Nursing Homes Handle Abuse and Neglect Accusations

Nursing home facilities receive various types of complaints, ranging from reports of inadequate care to accusations of severe physical, mental and emotional abuse. While nursing homes have a duty to staff their facilities with only the most compassionate, caring and professional workers they are able to procure, not every hire is going to be ideal. On the other hand, having a system of checks and balances in place can generally prevent cases of senior abuse and neglect in many nursing home facilities.

Ways to Recover After a Loved One Experiences Nursing Home Abuse

In many cases, after a family gains knowledge that an elderly relative has been abused in a nursing home facility, the first inclination is to move them to a different location immediately. Unfortunately, finances can be a major concern as nursing costs are generally hefty and sometimes paid in advance. Not all nursing homes are cooperative and can try to downplay both the severity and the extent of the abuse or neglect being alleged. Legal options are available for nursing home abuse victims and their families as the pain, trauma and suffering experienced can last a lifetime. While the laws are clear on personal injury and nursing home abuse, each case must be proven on an individual basis.

Finding that a relative has been suffering abuse or neglect in a nursing home setting can be highly upsetting, and leave you at a loss for what to do. Even if you are able to relocate your elderly relative, you may forever be scared that further injustice may occur. The very best thing that you can do for your elderly loved one is to continue to act as their advocate and voice any and all concerns that you have of nursing home neglect and abuse.