Investigating Nursing Home Abuse
October 1, 2013
Family Issues May Lead to Elder Abuse
March 26, 2014
Is Your Loved One Receiving The Care That He Or She Deserves?
Your loved ones deserve to be taken care of in their old age. Whether you do it yourself or put your parents or grandparents into a care home, you need to make sure that they are being fed properly, being tended to properly and have enough to do during the day. While you can’t be with your elderly family or friends all day, how can you make sure that they are being treated properly?
Start With A Regular Visit
The first thing that you need to do is make a regular visit to the nursing home. This can take place once a day, once a week or as many times as you can visit your friend or family member. While you are there, you should be on the lookout for:
-Staff Members Who Don’t Seem To Care About The Patients
-Staff Members Trying To Rush You Through Your Visit
-Bruises Or Other Apparent Bodily Injuries
-Weight Loss Or Any Changes In Mood
If you suspect that your loved one is not being treated properly, it is now time to stop making regular visits and start making surprise visits.
Show Up When No One Expects You To
If you come to the nursing home every Friday afternoon, you should stop by on a Wednesday afternoon to see how things are run. In most nursing homes, there is a strict routine that is followed regarding when residents eat, when they get together with other residents and when they get their medication.
Therefore, the nursing home is going to be going about their typical activities for that day when you arrive. In the event that abuse is taking place or any other shady activities are taking place, you will most likely catch the perpetrators in the act.
Encourage Your Loved Ones To Complain Whenever Possible
In some nursing homes, there may be one or two employees who are abusing residents or acting against the values of the home. You can take steps to put this abuse to an end by encouraging your loved one to tell you or another staff member if they are being mistreated. All it takes is one concerned employee or footage from one video camera to start an investigation and get the offending staff member or members fired.
Remove Your Loved One From A Home That Doesn’t Treat The Elderly Right
One final step that you can take is to remove your parent, grandparent or friend from the home that they are in. While you may be reluctant to bring an elderly person into your home, it is better than seeing that person getting abused or thinking about the abuse that they may be suffering from.
Most nursing homes treat their residents properly and with dignity. However, not all residents are lucky enough to be treated with kindness and respect. If you think that your loved one or friend is being abused or taken advantage of, you need to report the behavior or take action on your own to stop the abuse from happening.
