It's a very sad fact. Each and every year there are thousand of cases reported of nursing home abuse. Abuse can come in a variety of forms, but they can be suffering from mental issues, physical abuse or a caregiver abusing them for money. You must become familiar with all of the signs of this growing epidemic if you have someone you love that is in a nursing home facility, or one that is receiving care right in their own homes.
Once someone that is in their senior years becomes a bit on the codependent side, they will need some additional help getting through day. This is all completely normal, and no one should ever feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask for this type of help. Once you have discovered that your loved ones may need some help, look into what options you and your other family members can afford. Nursing homes can tend to be very pricey and some insurance policies do not help with these fees. Ensure first the building is safe, is well lit at night, has nurses around the clock should something occur and that they have methods of advising you should there be any issues with your loved one.
Sings of elderly abuse are very easy to define. All seniors become more frail as they age, their bones and even their skin become weaker and thinner. If they have been abused in any shape or form, you can generally tell by noticing any bruising on the skin, or even worse if they pain from any injury. If they have any injuries and they have no explanation for them, they can also have scars or welts on their bodies. They can experience drug overdoses, display signs of being restrained which would be markings on the wrists, and also destroyed eyeglasses.
Often a patient in a home can suffer from being mentally abused and need help to stop it at once. This can become more clear if you go to visit the patient and their caregiver does not allow you to see them without them being present. When you can no longer have visits with your family members in private, there should be some questions arise. Unexplained weight loss or gain can also be signs. If they have experienced bleeding, even around the genitals you must look into why this is happening. In the event your loved one has not been cleaning themselves or they have a caregiver to do it normally, you need to find out why they are not being kept clean as well. Look into anything that appears to be suspicious to you, even if you feel it is silly. It is much better to have tried to do something about it than to have let it go and someone suffer for it.
It is absolutely heart-breaking that this kind of crap even goes on. Boy it gets me fired up that this is something that is occurring more and more frequently.
ReplyDeleteHow dreadful! You would think that people getting paid to do a job would never be low enough to abuse an elderly person and live with themselves.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you would think that, but people can be lower than low.
ReplyDeleteJust because nursing home abuse has occurred way too often, I'm not going to even think about a nursing home for my mom and dad when they get that old. Maybe Home Health Care, but not a nursing home (plus, ironically enough they are way more expensive)
ReplyDeleteIt is very expensive, running between $45,000 and $65,000 a year. It's crazy that people who pay that much for care for their parents or whoever, have to worry about them being abused. You would think the people are paid very well to take good care of them.
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