Aging is a natural part of life and is inevitable. When a person gets to the point that they cannot care for themselves they may need to be placed into a nursing home. Many will tell you that the nursing homes they have seen are nice and cozy. Unfortunately, that is not true for all nursing homes out there. Some homes are a place where your loved ones are enduring physical, mental or emotional, and sexual abuse.
Physical Abuse
It is natural for the body to become weak with years of aging. Unfortunately, this makes it all the more easier for a nursing home worker to physically abuse their patients. Many people do not realize that it can become quite difficult to handle taking care of an elderly person. While this does not justify abuse in a nursing home, it should be a question you want to address to your nursing home candidates to see whether or not they can handle your loved one. Examples of physical abuse include:
o Pushing- this is quite common because the patients tend to move slower due to their age. Workers can become impatient and push or shove their patients to get them to hurry up.
o Hitting or Shaking- it is not uncommon for a patient to get violent or act out, but that does not give the worker a right to retaliate. There have been instances where workers try to "teach the patient a lesson" by pinching, hitting, kicking, or shaking.
o Restraining- while restraining a hostile patient may be necessary, some workers over sedate or restrain a patient which is uncalled for.
o Neglect- some elderly workers get tired of running back and forth to a patients room, but that is a part of the job. When a worker neglects a patient and fails to change or bathe them in a timely manner, it can result in bed sores infections, and rashes.
Mental Or Emotional Abuse
Elderly people deserve the same amount of respect as any other individual. Belittling a patient who is reliant on your care is an abuse of power. It is inappropriate to exploit the patient's feelings of embarrassment to make yourself fell better. Unfortunately this happens all the time. Comments such as geezer, senile, lazy, fat, etc. are harmful to the patient's already fragile state.
Sexual Abuse
Unfortunately sexual abuse in nursing homes has happened. The inability of the patient to defend themselves leaves them vulnerable to this abuse. Forms of sexual abuse that have occurred in nursing homes include rape, assault, nudity, and sodomy.
Financial Abuse
Caretakers have been known to steal or threaten their patients to obtain money. They have also violated the law and forged a patient's signature to obtain their assets, property, and any other money available.
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