Isn’t it scary to think that one of your elder family members that is in long term care can be suffering from abuse and neglect? These members of your family can be suffering and you may never even know it. Research in previous years has shown that thousands of elder Americans suffer from abuse and neglect every year. Whether people want to think about this or not, it is a serious issue and a growing concern as the number of individuals that will require some type of long term care is growing. Abuse of elders can occur in many different forms such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation, and abandonment. Abuse and neglect of elders can occur in any aspect of long term care including home health care and skilled nursing
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Three of the most common forms of long-term care are home health care, skilled nursing facilities, and hospice care. The official U.S Government site for Medicare describes home health care as a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury. Skilled nursing facilities can be defined as a health-care institution that “provides a full range of clinical long-term care, from skilled nursing care to rehabilitation to assistance in all activities of daily living” (Singh, 2016, p.53). The third most common form of long term care is hospice care. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services defines hospice care is end-of-life care, hospice patients are typically expected to live 6 months or less. The goal of the hospice is to help people who are dying have peace and comfort. The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as …show more content…
These laws and regulations come from the federal and state level, and can vary from state to state. The elder justice act was the first piece of federal legislation passed to authorize a specific source of federal funds to address elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Every state also has an Ombudsmen’s program; these Ombudsmen’s programs provide advocates for the residents of nursing homes. The individuals work to resolve problems of individual residents and they also work to bring change at the local, state, and national levels to improve residents’ quality of care. Each state has an Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, headed by a full-time state ombudsman. There are then local ombudsman staff and volunteers who work in hundreds of communities throughout the United States as part of the statewide ombudsman programs (Administration on Aging). Elder abuse is very underreported because the elderly fears backlash from their abuser or they are ashamed to tell anyone that a someone is assaulting them or stealing their money. Elder abuse also goes unreported because family or other individual’s do not know who to speak to about the abuse and they do not know what can be done about it. Many nursing home residents do not have the mental presence or confidence to report abuse for themselves, and
Three of the most common forms of long-term care are home health care, skilled nursing facilities, and hospice care. The official U.S Government site for Medicare describes home health care as a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury. Skilled nursing facilities can be defined as a health-care institution that “provides a full range of clinical long-term care, from skilled nursing care to rehabilitation to assistance in all activities of daily living” (Singh, 2016, p.53). The third most common form of long term care is hospice care. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services defines hospice care is end-of-life care, hospice patients are typically expected to live 6 months or less. The goal of the hospice is to help people who are dying have peace and comfort. The caregivers try to control pain and other symptoms so a person can remain as alert and comfortable as …show more content…
These laws and regulations come from the federal and state level, and can vary from state to state. The elder justice act was the first piece of federal legislation passed to authorize a specific source of federal funds to address elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Every state also has an Ombudsmen’s program; these Ombudsmen’s programs provide advocates for the residents of nursing homes. The individuals work to resolve problems of individual residents and they also work to bring change at the local, state, and national levels to improve residents’ quality of care. Each state has an Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, headed by a full-time state ombudsman. There are then local ombudsman staff and volunteers who work in hundreds of communities throughout the United States as part of the statewide ombudsman programs (Administration on Aging). Elder abuse is very underreported because the elderly fears backlash from their abuser or they are ashamed to tell anyone that a someone is assaulting them or stealing their money. Elder abuse also goes unreported because family or other individual’s do not know who to speak to about the abuse and they do not know what can be done about it. Many nursing home residents do not have the mental presence or confidence to report abuse for themselves, and