It’s something most of us don’t want to talk about, but the problem of nursing home abuse is surprisingly widespread. Neglect, rather than actual abuse is more common, but the numbers speak for themselves – around a million residents in nursing homes are abused or neglected every year.
Although the problem has existed for years, it has only recently been seriously addressed. The first comprehensive report on nursing home abuse which actually analyzed reports from across the country was undertaken in 2001 at the instigation of Senator Henry Waxman, (Democrat-California).
The report studied a two year period from 1999 to 2000 and found that around 30% of the 17,000 or so nursing homes in the United States were cited for some kind of abuse. The report also found that on occasion, residents were actually attacked by other residents and staff members.
Abuse in nursing homes is often described as “institutional abuse” and there are several different types. Abuse can be physical, emotional, psychological, and even sexual. And many examples of abuse only come to light when residents or families actually complain.
So if your loved one is in a nursing home, what can you look for to make sure this isn’t happening? Ascertaining nursing home abuse can be difficult, as often residents have limited means to communicate. Identifying abuse can require frequent visits and observant monitoring.
Physical abuse is perhaps the easiest kind of abuse to identify. Signs include any kind of unexplained injuries such as cuts, wounds or bruising. Also, look for unreasonable physical restraint or forcing a resident to stay in his or her room for a long time.
Medication is an area where neglect or abuse can occur. Residents can be abused by either being given too much or not enough medication. Staff in nursing homes that have the job of administering medication to residents are required to be trained and experienced in this area.
Nursing home abuse can also be emotional or verbal. Residents who have been abused in this way may seem upset, agitated or withdrawn. They may also exhibit aggressive, insulting or humiliating behavior towards friends and family.
And be watchful for any unusual or obsessive behavior such as rocking, hugging oneself or nail biting. Also, try to observe a resident interact with a caregiver – they both should be comfortable in each other’s company. If a resident is withdrawn or fearful, it may be a warning sign of emotional abuse.
Sexual abuse is a terrible thing, but it occurs more often than is believed. Many seniors with dementia are particularly vulnerable, and sadly, many staff have not been adequately vetted before being employed. Some things to look for would be torn or bloody clothing, unexplained genital infections or venereal disease.
There are other warning signs. Any injury that occurs inside a nursing home that necessitates the need for a hospital visit or emergency treatment should raise a red flag. And you should be suspicious if a resident’s injuries or illness are not immediately reported to a family member or doctor.
One type of abuse which is particularly difficult to spot is financial exploitation. Some examples of this might include stealing or misusing resident’s possessions; cashing checks or forging signatures. Many elderly residents have little or no knowledge of how much money they have and when bills are due.
There are certain things you can do if you are trying to choose a nursing home for a loved one. Apart from talking to the residents and the administrator, try talking to some of the staff and the residents’ families. And according to Medicare regulations, you also have the right to see a copy of the most up to date state survey.
Try to visit a nursing home at different times of day or night, nursing homes are routinely not as well staffed at weekends or late evenings. Try to visit during meal times and ascertain the quality of the food, and whether residents are being assisted with their meals. Some facilities will allow you to eat with the residents.
Nursing home abuse is a terrible thing, and not always easy to identify. Having made the decision to put your loved one in a nursing home, it’s partly up to you to make sure they are getting the care they need, they may not be able to do it themselves.
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Do you have ideas for classes to teach my nursing home residents?I am a CNA and wellness teacher in a local nursing home and need help coming up with class ideas. We already do chair exercises, relaxation, meditation and things like that. NO ARTS AND CRAFTS! We have an activities department for that. The classes must be informative such as "Depression in the Elderly Population" and "Financial Tips for the Elderly Population" and must cover mental/physical/spiritual health. Thanks so much for any help you may be able to give.
About Author
Nick Johnson is lead counsel with Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs in many states and focuses on injury cases involving Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Neglect and Negligence. Visit http://www.topnursinghomelawyers.com or call 1-888-311-5522
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it’s almost like a photo
great painting 
dude, you own! this looks identical to a photograph
wich program he is for doing this ? beside a tablet ofc
LINA: I disagree. There are some parents out there (my own included) who would not have stood for such outright disregard for other human life from their own flesh and blood. When we got in trouble in school or wherever, my parents first asked us, "what did you do?" and they never blamed the school or the teachers or anyone else for our bad behavior, nor tried to tone it down. Parents need to realize that their children are capable of bad behavior and quit defending their "flesh and blood" in situations such as these–it sends a horrible message. If my child did something like this, you can bet that even at the age of 17, he would be facing serious punishment from me and I would not stand in the way of the law in giving him severe consequences to his actions either.
But shouldn't the question here be, how is it that parents have neglected to teach their children respect for the elderly? I would never have, in all my life, even made fun of an elderly person, and NEVER would have gone this far as to abuse them in such a fashion. I was taught to respect them. If we were in the car and any one of us ever pointed to some elderly person hobbling down the road and cracked a joke, my parents would stop the car and lay down the law about how you don't even TALK about the elderly in such a disrespectful fashion. If more parents out there taught their children such principles, things like this would hardly ever happen.
Yes, older people often have thick yellow nails. They also do dry out and easily get caught on things and tear or break off. Take your grandmother some good hand lotion and put it on for her when you come visit.
There should be a division at your local Department of Social Services for Adult Protective Services. That is who you would call
You are not working in a good place, i have worked in nursing homes and i am thankful for the housekeepers.Maybe apply somewhere else.Your job is just as important as anyone elses and you deserve respect.A true professional doesnt look down on others, we are all team members working for the best outcome..
There is a federal program available for people who are considered to be "high-risk" on the job. It's called the Federal Bonding Program.
http://www.bonds4jobs.com/
The program is free to the one wanting to work and also to the employer. Basically, it is insurance to protect the employer against employee dishonesty.
It is also an incentive to the employer to hire an at-risk job applicant and there are many nationwide, well-know, large corporations who participate in the bonding program.
Also, depending on your eligibility, an employer can receive a tax credit. "The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit available to all private sector businesses. It was designed as an incentive to employers to hire individuals in certain targeted groups which consistently experience high rates of unemployment due to a variety of employment barriers."
Being able to offer information on the two above programs to a potential employer may give you the break you will need in the work force.
Your local workforce commission should also be able to help you with any programs they may have in place for job placement.
Good luck.
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i use photoshop
I think she's already run afoul of the law. I'm thinking privacy act violation, invasion of privacy, and coercion.
I don't know if there's a law against using the title, "Private Investigator" like there is "Realtor." But the appellation does imply (at least to me) "trained and licensed." So she might be able to add fraud to the list of charges against her.
If she carries a concealed weapon, that's another charge. And the way she operates, she really needs to have some kind of protection.
If she uses the mail for her business, she could be breaking Federal law.
If she came to me and tried to coerce me with personal information protected by the privacy act, I'd report her to the County Prosecutor, and the State Attorney General.
Here's another scenario. She enters my house under false pretenses.. She tries to extort information from me through the use of privacy act information. At that point she's a definite threat. Now, if I beat the stuffing out of her, I could be in trouble. But if she dies, she's merely a trespasser, who broke into my house and threatened me and my family.
I'd say the lady's a moron.
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Cool mom. Crazy childhood, but you survived. Good for you.
OK, couple things. One is you’re a good daughter and doing the right things. The problem is your mom is expanding her borders to engulf you. That’s not so good (although not uncommon even among sane parents)
A good nursing home is not the same as a home, but you did good. She’s bored and haunting you is what she does for entertainment because you and your life are far more interesting than what’s happening where she lives. The requests for stuff are just an excuse to bring you near. You could come by with nothing and it would be ok. She wants 24/7 access but you could never be around enough to create her own quality of life because that’s inside her, not in you. She just doesn’t know that, yet. Seeing you as often as possible gives her the impression of quality of life, so she needs you more and more to feel that substantial quality more and more. She FEELS empty even if you were there all the time. That’s the problem.
But it’s healthy to set limits. The problem for the enabler is you accidentally turn into a version of her, the negative version, like an alternate personality. She gets more demanding, you get more submissive; she does more wheedling and you get angrier – stuff like that. Before long, the people in your own life wind up living with a version of your mother and feel cheated because they thought they were spending time with you. Marriages crumble and friendships cool under the weight of something like that.
So setting your personal limits is absolutely necessary to keep the integrity of YOU separate from HER.
She uses emotional black mail because it still works. It’s interesting for the manipulator because they get what they ask for but not what they want. They don’t know yet what they want. Keeping you dancing around them, feels like it might be what they want but it isn’t because it doesn’t satisfy them. Real things make you feel completed.
Here’s what I do for my manipulative friends and abusers. I set standards for myself, tell them what they will be and then enforce them. For a verbal abuser or emotional manipulator, I say, “This talk is unacceptable. If it doesn’t stop, I’m hanging up.” Of course it doesn’t stop because they don’t know what they’re doing. “I’m hanging up now” and then I do. Stay by the phone because they’ll hit redial. Talk like it’s a brand new conversation. When the bad behavior starts again, say “This talk is unacceptable. If it doesn’t stop, I’m hanging up.” They don’t know exactly what you’re talking about so they usually do it anyway. Hang up. The third time say, “This talk is unacceptable. I’m going to hang up. You can speak to me in 20 minutes.” And then hang up for 20 (even most urgent calls can wait 20 minutes) take the phone off the hook, back on in 20, or better call them back.
Eventually they make the connection with which things can be said and which cannot and your conversations will be much more enjoyable.
As for the ten times a day: Set a limit of one call per day for minimum 10 minutes. She’s your mom, for crying out loud, and she’s stuck in a nursing home. If she freaks out for a missed call, apologize, and set limits on how much complaining she can do about it using the same technique. You’ll find your mom respects you more and you like her more. If you don’t have anything to say, ask – in the evening – how was your day? And let her do the talking for 10 minutes. Ask her for advice. Ask her what her best day ever was; the hardest thing about being a mom; the best thing about being a mom; stuff like that to fill time and learn more about her as a person. Make up a list of questions by the phone to help. Toss in a few I love you’s and I love it when I see you again, words of appreciation – but sign off and BE FIRM. She’ll adjust to the new rules if she wants to get quality time with you. If she doesn’t adjust, enforce the rules again with inaccessibility for a short, specified time. (NO guilt, that’s cheating
) She’ll get the message.
She’s an adult, and she gets to indulge whatever she wants. Sad, but it’s the respect you’ll expect from your kids if you’re ever aged and wheelchair bound. You don’t have to enable her vices, but shut up with the scolding. She’s still the mom and you love her.
Good luck.
HOLY CRAP! Comparing this to the original picture, they’re identical!
awesome stuff man,….ama practice hard to get to yo level!
Awesome work Williamsshamir
Great video.
Much love Kat