When you choose a nursing home for your loved one, you trust that the staff and administrators will treat your elderly relative with love, respect and care. Unfortunately, it's not always the case. Elder abuse in nursing homes is a real danger when you leave your loved one with strangers who profess to be professional. By doing the proper research and looking for signs of abuse, you can help protect your loved one from nursing home abuse.
Step 1
Research your options carefully, and thoroughly look into a nursing home's background and credentials before you send your elderly relative there. Make sure that you visit the facility, talk to the staff, and get to know the grounds and atmosphere. Then head home and contact your county clerk's office to ask if any lawsuits have been filed against the nursing home you're researching. Choose the nursing home with which you feel the most comfortable, suggests the Nursing Home Abuse Center.
Step 2
Visit the nursing home as often as possible. Elderly individuals who are ignored by their families are more likely to be targets because less evidence is collected to support a charge of abuse. The National Center of Elder Abuse suggests offering to volunteer so you can keep a watchful eye while you're visiting with and working with some of the elderly residents and your loved one.
Step 3
Nurture a relationship with the staff and administrative professionals at the nursing home in which your loved one resides. Make an effort to get to know them better, and allow them to get to know your loved one through conversation and casual meetings. As you make yourself known as a presence in the nursing home, the staff will know and want to treat your loved one with the best care and respect possible.
Step 4
Watch for warning signs that your elderly loved one is being abused. Some signs of abuse include unexplained injuries, withdrawal from social situations, unusual weight loss and dehydration, fear, unsanitary living conditions, sudden changes in financial status, and over- and under-medication, notes HelpGuide.org. Catch potential signs of elder abuse and speak directly to the facility manager about your concerns.
Step 5
Report any elder abuse at the nursing home, whether it happened to your loved one or someone else. You can call the ElderCare Hot Line at 1-800-677-1116 or call 9-1-1 for emergency support. The National Center on Elder Abuse has a list of state numbers that you can contact to report neglectful or abusive behavior to help protect your loved one and others.
