When an elderly family member requires around-the-clock medical care, they are often enrolled into a nursing home to help them stay safe and well cared for. Unfortunately, patients are not always secure in American nursing homes. Recognizing the signs of nursing home abuse is crucial for ensuring that our loved ones are treated with respect and dignity, especially since abuse can manifest in various detrimental ways. There are six tragic scenarios, in particular, that commonly impact elderly nursing home patients across America:
1. Improper Facility Care and Management
To keep nursing home patients secure, happy, and healthy, the nursing home itself must be in a consistently stellar condition. When the facility is dirty, hazard-ridden, or improperly managed, the patients are the ones who suffer the consequences. Slip-and-fall accidents are some of the most deadly scenarios that improper management can lead to, and happen far too often in America’s nursing homes every single year. If your loved one is harmed due to improper facility care and management, getting involved with Nursing Home LLC can help you find the fastest path to holding those responsible for their suffering legally accountable.
2. Dubious Billing and Financial Practices
There’s a massive financial abuse and exploitation problem in America’s nursing homes. Because many elderly patients have a hard time keeping track of their finances, especially those with psychological impairments like dementia, they become easy targets for ill-intentioned, predatory nursing home staff members looking to make some quick cash. Whether double billing, theft, or forced gift-giving is happening behind the scenes, it must be brought to a halt ASAP. The sooner one instance of financial abuse is uncovered, the better, as it will help every patient at that nursing home to remain financially healthy and secure in the future. Getting a lawyer involved is key when confronting a nursing home about financial abuse.
3. Unexplained and Untreated Injuries
Around-the-clock healthcare is a key feature of every legitimate American nursing home. After all, many patients enter into nursing home care specifically because they need 24/7 access to nursing services and medication management. Without this care being given in a consistent, professional, and effective fashion, the patients that rely on that care have their lives put in direct peril. When injuries are going unexplained and untreated, or when medical services are not being provided at a moment’s notice, the nursing home is being neglectful (likely to a criminal degree) and must be held accountable for their reckless managerial behavior.
4. Rampant Sexual Health and Abuse Issues
Just because the patients in nursing homes are elderly does not mean that they have no sex drive, or that their sex lives are over. In reality, many elderly patients actually lead rather active sex lives. With this in mind, sexual healthcare is key to running a functional, effective nursing home. If patients are suddenly contracting STDs without any understanding of how they occurred, however, this could be a sign of sexual abuse happening behind the scenes. Watching out for these types of red flags is key to keeping America’s nursing home patients safe, secure, and happy. Both nursing home directors and elderly patients’ loved ones need to be vigilant about protecting nursing home patients.
5. Widespread Communal and Mental Neglect
A nursing home is much more than a hospital-like setting where elderly patients live. Quality nursing homes provide communal support, events, and growth to help improve their patient population’s quality of life. When nursing homes fail to do so, they are causing communal and mental neglect that can severely impact their patients’ health. A poorly taken care of mind can lead to serious physical side effects, and elderly patients in nursing homes are at much higher risk from this type of neglect. For this reason, you should always do a lot of research surrounding a nursing home’s community-mindedness before enrolling and moving your loved one into a facility. Doing so will ensure they are protected from neglectful homes, and that cut corners to save themselves a quick buck (and their patients’ expense)
6. Obstructed Visitation Access
When a patient is enrolled in a nursing home, the initial transition can be overwhelming. Even after they’ve settled into their new living environment and lifestyle, having access to visitation from friends and family is key to keeping their mental health strong. If a nursing home makes their visitation hours inaccessible, or straight-up obstructs a patient’s ability to see outside loved ones, they are participating in harmful (and potentially illegal) neglect. You want to stay deeply involved in your elderly loved one’s life while they are in the care of a nursing home, as this will help you watch out for them, and will give you the ability to quickly spot any red flags that could point toward potential abuse happening behind the scenes at their nursing home.
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