This article is a guest post by Leslie E. Krick. You can read more about her in the resource box at the end of this article.
3 reasons why nursing home abuse and neglect is on the rise
We see them in the newspaper, on television, and even recreate them in the movies. However, horror stories about nursing home abuse happen in real life, probably in your own state or community. Nursing homes abuse and neglect are on the rise across North America, and sadly, what we see in movies and at a distance on television isn’t far from the reality. For many people, including myself, there comes a time when caring for parents and grandparents, whether it’s an issue of age, accident (i.e., hip replacement), or medical condition (Alzheimer’s Disease) , becomes something you don’t have the expertise to handle.
When elder care becomes too burdensome, we often turn to nursing homes like I did with my grandfather. Unfortunately, he was stricken with Alzheimer’s 5-years after my grandmother passed away. He also succumbed to arthritic knees, and it got so bad that he was confined to a wheelchair. Unable to lift him from bed or to the bath safely, I found it was time to trust his care to a nursing facility.
I am familiar with nursing home horror stories and lawsuits due to me working with several attorneys, so I thought I was prepared. However, my family, like many others each year, entrust a loved one’s primary care to a nursing home without doing the proper research. The last thing we expect is to have our parent, sibling, child, or grandparent subjected to abuse and neglect. However, sadly, we hear more and more instances of abuse, injury, or even death caused by poor and neglectful nursing home providers.
Here are the most common issues that threaten quality nursing home care:
1. Larger doesn’t necessarily mean superior care
It makes sense that the larger the facility; the more quality the staff, care, and services, right? Wrong! The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that serious health deficiencies (i.e., such as unclean facilities, unsafe food preparation, and etc.) are 19-percent higher at nursing homes owned by large investment companies with large nursing facilities.
2. Cutting costs
Between 2000 and 2008, investment companies starting buying nursing homes from private owners because they were a lucrative way to make a buck. In relation, instances of
3. Nursing care as profit
Today, it’s a sad reality that nursing homes are seen as profitable businesses ventures rather than quality health care facilities. With private investment companies purchasing more and more nursing facilities and cutting costs regulatory care standards are not being respected. Plus, the corporate structure of these investment companies is able to shield the facility and its poor practices from liability so abused residents and families are often unsuccessful in lawsuits or bringing about justice if a loved one’s health or life is compromised.
What to Look for When Selecting a Nursing Home
Finding and trusting a nursing home to provide adequate care for your loved one can be an anxiety-ridden mission. That’s why the Alabama Nursing Home Association (ANHA) offers the following things to consider when searching for a quality home care facility:
- Choose a nursing home location in or near your home so you can visit often and even drop in unexpectedly
- Take a full tour of nursing homes and ask what services and visually inspect rooms and facilities
- Meet with the administrators and talk to staff and residents on your visit
- Ask to see administrators’ licenses and qualifications
- Judge the facility on its welcoming environment—do residents appear happy, engaged, content, etc?
- Do rooms offer a certain amount of privacy for residents?
- Do rooms offer private bathrooms?
- Are the visiting hours convenient for you and family members?
- Take a meal with your loved one in the cafeteria to judge menu, staff service, duration of meals, and meal assistance (if needed)
- Ask about the types of activities for residents—i.e., games nights, live music, spa services, etc.
- Stick around to see how staff deals with emergency calls—are they prepared, courteous, what is the respond time?
- Are there resident rights posted in plain view for everyone to see and read?
- Is the cost appropriate for the level of care?
- Is there a doctor’s office, dental office, and hospital nearby?
About The Author
Leslie Krick is a staff writer for attorneys Bachus & Schanker on topics relating to employment, labor and state law. She is also an active member in her community as well as a member of Amnesty International.
1 response so far ↓
1 GRABBING/PICK-UP TOOL // Jul 3, 2012 at 1:38 pm
I enjoyed your article Leslie and it gives one something to think about and consider when choosing a nursing home. I did private duty for a woman who has Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia for 3 years before her family was forced to put her in a nursing home. When I started out with her she was a little confused but could still function somewhat. She had just sold her home and moved in with her eldest daughter and family due to the fact of her constant falling from her Parkinson’s Disease. That was a big adjustment for everyone. As time went by her Parkinson’s progressed but so did her dementia-and towards the end quite rapidly.
It was a very tough decision for her daughters here to put her in a home. It makes you feel like a failure that your letting your loved one down.She has 2 daughters here and 2 sons who are both living out of state. I imagine it was hard on the boys as well knowing what had to be done for her own safety. She could no longer use the phone even to try and talk on it to her boys. When it rang she couldn’t quite figure out what to do or how to answer it. She needed constant 24 hour supervision. One daughter was in denial about seeing her mom silently slip away into her own little world and regress too almost a childlike state at times. She was an intelligent college educated woman but couldn’t except her mothers condition. The daughter she lived with towards the end got laid-off from her job and was at home for the last 8 months before they had to place the mom in a home. I was still there while her daughter was home from work. Like I said she needed constant watching and it gave her daughter a chance to attend job seminars and to go on interviews. It also gave me a chance to see that her daughter was a lot more caring than I thought. I told her so as well.
They checked around for nursing homes that were in her budget that would accept public assistance once her money ran out along with Medicare. Well that narrowed things down a bit. I tried to point out to them several times in a nice but non-intrusive way to make sure the facility dealt well with demented patients. Not just elderly patients. They placed her in a beautiful home that met her financial limitations. I was asked to go for a few hours a day and stay with her until she made the adjustment to communal living. The food looked and smelled delicious. They had music piped into the dining area. The grounds were beautiful. The staff seemed nice as well. But somewhere along the line someone dropped the ball as far as her meds. were concerned. We still don’t know if it was the nursing home, one of her own private doctors/nurses or what but the fact was she was not getting her anti-depressant. They just were not giving it to her. That would explain her complaints of headaches which is what happens when you suddenly stop the meds. .She also started getting verbally abusive/combative and that was not in her nature at all. The home suggested she go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation . While there one of the” residents” decided to cut back her Parkinson’s pills because he felt she was on too much. Now she was having trouble with the tremors that are associated with Parkinson’s when its not controlled. Oh this poor woman. She was there 10 days and was transferred back to the nursing home. Now her daughters are beginning to see that they should’ve placed her in a facility that is geared more for the demented patient and are going to transfer her to a new facility that will better deal with her Parkinson’s and Dementia. Only problem I foresee is that this place has a policy that when the patient becomes immobile they are transferred out to a sister facility. Too much moving around.
So I can see where “mistakes”are made. With my friend all the unnecessary transferring around to get her medicines restarted and back on the time schedule. With the economy the ways it is I’m sure these nursing homes figure if you don’t like the pay then quit. There’s always 20 more people lined up for the job. These people/corporations that own the nursing homes probably don’t realize that this is hard work. It’s not an easy job. It involves patience, compassion, respect and being physically fit to be moving and lifting some of these patients. Maybe they’ll see the light when someone they love has to be put in a home and maybe then they’ll see the light. What needs to be done. Whats not being done. It’s always different when your on the other side but boy how you see things when your forced to and have to make these kinds of tough decisions. Then maybe they won’t have profits so much on their minds but actually the patients welfare. Wouldn’t that be nice!!
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