The Many Forms of Nursing Home Abuse
One of the most challenging and important decisions one has to make when they are responsible for the care of an elderly loved one is how and where their long-term care needs will be met. Many individuals turn to private care, or government assisted nursing care facilities. We expect the individuals who are employed by these organizations to protect and care for our loved ones with respect and dignity as common decency dictates and the federal law demands. However, an extremely dark statistic is steadily on the rise. According to Elder Abuse (2000), “The American Medical Association has estimated one in four older persons experience some form of abuse” (Para 1). The elderly are abused in many ways within the walls of nursing homes including mentally, physically, financially and neglectfully.
One way the elderly are abused in nursing homes is mentally. Mental abuse is the one form of abuse that is most difficult to identify. Mental abuse is a form of abuse …show more content…
Neglect is often a direct result of understaffing, lack of adequately trained staff, and overcrowding of patients. “To increase their profits, many (nursing homes) pay low wages to nursing assistants who- frequently with inadequate training- must provide round the clock care to aged residents.” (Elder Abuse, 2000, Para. 4). When staff members are overworked, underpaid, and forced to take on more patients than they can care for, they tend to cut corners. When nursing homes do not have adequate assistance for their residents, they cannot watch them properly to prevent fall risks. Staff members are not ensuring the residents are moving around correctly, which can lead to injuries such as bedsores. Due to these conditions, many residents suffer from dehydration, malnutrition, injuries and errors in medication, which ultimately leads to a decline in the health of the residents, or in the worst cases, premature
One of the most challenging and important decisions one has to make when they are responsible for the care of an elderly loved one is how and where their long-term care needs will be met. Many individuals turn to private care, or government assisted nursing care facilities. We expect the individuals who are employed by these organizations to protect and care for our loved ones with respect and dignity as common decency dictates and the federal law demands. However, an extremely dark statistic is steadily on the rise. According to Elder Abuse (2000), “The American Medical Association has estimated one in four older persons experience some form of abuse” (Para 1). The elderly are abused in many ways within the walls of nursing homes including mentally, physically, financially and neglectfully.
One way the elderly are abused in nursing homes is mentally. Mental abuse is the one form of abuse that is most difficult to identify. Mental abuse is a form of abuse …show more content…
Neglect is often a direct result of understaffing, lack of adequately trained staff, and overcrowding of patients. “To increase their profits, many (nursing homes) pay low wages to nursing assistants who- frequently with inadequate training- must provide round the clock care to aged residents.” (Elder Abuse, 2000, Para. 4). When staff members are overworked, underpaid, and forced to take on more patients than they can care for, they tend to cut corners. When nursing homes do not have adequate assistance for their residents, they cannot watch them properly to prevent fall risks. Staff members are not ensuring the residents are moving around correctly, which can lead to injuries such as bedsores. Due to these conditions, many residents suffer from dehydration, malnutrition, injuries and errors in medication, which ultimately leads to a decline in the health of the residents, or in the worst cases, premature