Nursing Home Abuse

Since 1997, the Senate Special Committee on Aging has focused considerable attention on the need to improve the quality of care for nursing home residents. Since that time over 30 initiatives have been passed. They focused on improving the detection of quality problems and changes in measuring nursing home quality, strengthening states' complaint investigation processes and federal enforcement policies, and improving, at the federal level, the oversight of states' quality assurance activities.

Federal and State laws require that nursing homes develop a plan of care and employ sufficient staffing to provide ALL the care listed on the care plan. Because most corporate owned nursing homes today are not sufficiently staffed, they cannot provide ALL the care listed on the care plan.

Results of Under-Staffed Nursing Homes

Unfortunately resident are not taken to the toilet when necessary. They are often left lying in urine and feces, develop painful and life threatening pressure sores (decubitus ulcers), are not fed properly, are not given sufficient fluids, are over-medicated or under-medicated, are dropped, causing painful bruises and fractures, are not cleaned or groomed, are ignored and not included in activities, are left in bed all day, are not turned, call lights not answered promptly or not at all, etc., all forms of neglect.

What constitutes abuse and neglect in a nursing home?

Abuse and neglect can include the following
Abandonment
Desertion or willful forsaking of an elder by anyone having care or custody of the elder under circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue to provide care and custody
Abuse, fiduciary abuse, and physical abuse
Neglect
Isolation
Any other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental suffering, or the deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering

How do I find a good nursing home?

Talk to doctors, nurses, social workers, hospital discharge workers, pastors, the county ombudsman, and the local office on aging. These people and what they have seen and/or heard can be invaluable in selecting a good nursing home.

Get the inspection reports. You can get the latest report from the nursing home director or possibly the county ombudsman. Most nursing homes will have some violations so read a few different reports to get a feel of what is out of the norm. You can also talk to the nursing home about the violations.

Visit several facilities. Note any odors and the cleanliness of the facility, how the staff interacts with the residents, how many residents are restrained, available activities, resident or family complaints, and if there is adequate staffing or if the staff seems rushed.

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