Around the country thousands of family members make the tough decision to place their loved one in a nursing home. The main goal of nursing home care involves placing an elderly or handicapped patient in a safe environment that is both caring and nurturing. Unfortunately, many of these patients are the victims of some form of abuse during their stay in a nursing home. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 500,000 older adults are victimized while under the care of nursing home personnel.
Signs
Because many patients that are placed in nursing homes are unable to physically defend or speak for themselves, it can be difficult for them to tell their loved ones or caregivers that they are being hurt. If a patient has dementia, Alzheimer's disease or suffered a stroke they may not have a voice. That is why it is important to look for signs of abuse. The Nursing Home Abuse Center website notes that an increase in bed sores, bruising, the patient refusing to talk or be touched, lost or stolen personal items, being left alone and frequent hospital visits are all signs of abuse.
Neglect
Elder abuse can also result in physical neglect. According to the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term Care, neglect is the failure to care for someone that could avoid the patient harm and pain. Neglect includes not only withholding pain medication or giving the patient too much. It can also include not changing the linens frequently or assisting the patient with going to the bathroom or showering. The overall lack of hygiene can result in soiled clothing, poor physical condition, skin infections and body odor.
Physical Assault
Physical abuse or assualt is one of the leading causes of emergency room visits and accidental deaths that occur in nursing homes. Physical elder abuse involves the non-accidental use of force or coercion on an elderly person. Physical assault can be committed by anyone but in a nursing home setting it is generally an orderly, nurse or nurse's aid inflicting the abuse by hitting, restraining, confining or tying down a patient. Sexual abuse and the stealing of the patient's personal property are also forms of physical abuse.
Verbal Abuse
Verbal abuse is also a way that some caregivers in nursing homes inflict abuse. This includes verbally abusing and degrading the patient through threats or demeaning words. Pimall.com shares some forms of common verbal abuse that may occur in a nursing home, such as name calling, teasing, yelling or scolding a resident for soiling his clothes or for making a mess in the room.
Prevention
The best way to prevent abuse in nursing homes is to create awareness. The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse is a non-profit organization that helps educate the public along with private organizations about the signs and effects of elder abuse. They have dedicated June 15 as an annual date to spread the word about abuse. This is done through public speaking, wearing a purple ribbon and offering statistics and vital information to others.
