Nursing Home Abuse Is A Growing Problem: Proactive Advice To Help You Protect Your Loved Ones
Posted on: 12 January 2018
Instances of all types of nursing home abuse are a growing problem. Reports of negligence, mistreatment, theft, medical malpractice, and even sexual and physical abuse arise all too frequently in facilities of all sizes. While most nursing homes have policies in place to try and keep their residents safe from all types of abuse and mistreatment, the problem is compounded by the fact that elderly or disabled residents may be unable to report or ward off attempts to mistreat them. If a family member or loved one is currently residing in a nursing facility, the following advice can help you protect them from being abused during their stay.
Look for information regarding past problems at any facility under consideration
The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services maintains a website consumers can use to locate and compare every nursing home in the nation that has been certified to care for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The site provides information that can be helpful in making an initial assessment of each facility based on overall ratings, health inspections, and staffing levels. While this information can be an excellent starting point, families who have concerns about a loved one will want to seek out additional information when vetting a specific facility.
Meet with the nursing home administrator and staff during the vetting process
Taking time to meet with the nursing home administrator and their staff is an important part of any vetting process for families who want to protect a loved one during their stay in residential nursing care. In addition to learning more about their policies and guidelines regarding care, it is important to ask direct questions about past instances of abuse at their facility, how they were handled, and any changes that were made to help keep the problem from happening again in the future.
Look for any instances of possible abuse, neglect or mistreatment during each visit
Because many nursing home positions are considered entry-level positions, staffing changes can occur frequently. To ensure that your loved one is safe and protected from abuse, visiting family members should remain alert for any signs of potential abuse of their loved one, including physical marks, such as bruising and signs of emotional distress, such as unusual signs of sadness, depression, nervousness, or fear.
Families who fear that their loved one may have been abused or mistreated while residing in a nursing facility should immediately seek the guidance of an attorney with demonstrated experience in dealing with nursing home abuse cases. For more information, contact companies like Garrison Law Firm.
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