Nursing homes are meant to be a safe place for the elderly where help is provided to those who cannot attend to their own daily needs. However, some of the best intentions go awry due to human greed. Lately, it has been reported that there is a rise in the number of abuse claims in many nursing homes within New York.

Today, some senior citizens have become victims of abuse, incompetence, and neglect. In some cases, records of the nursing homes have been doctored in order to hide abuse which elderly people in their have had to endure. The main reason for this increase in New York nursing home abuse is due to the faculties which are set up to concentrate more on profits than on the care of senior citizens. The aged is no longer respected as money has gained more importance in some New York nursing homes.

Some Instances of New York Nursing Home Abuse
A typical example of nursing home abuse is cases where the elderly patient suffers from bed sores. When neglected and treatment is not given for an issue such as this, they can become so infected that they reach the resident’s bones which are severely painful for someone of any age. These sores are painful and rather difficult to treat and cure, and arise mainly because of insufficient staff which therefore leads to inadequate cleaning and attention in elderly people.

In some more severe cases, some elderly residents’ have also become victims of rape, physical abuse and other violence in their nursing home. This is because they are left within the care of young and aggressive people who are mentally retarded or emotionally disturbed, and in some shocking cases, may also end up being killed by these people.
What is most shocking and disturbing about these cases, is that usually nothing about this abuse is reported to the authorities, and consequently, those responsible for this heinous work do not get punished.

Insufficient Staff for Monetary Reasons
According to some reports, some nursing homes don’t feed many of their elderly patients, which can then lead to many suffering from malnutrition and death in some cases. As some nursing homes cut down on staff to increase their profits, the existing staff does not have sufficient time to ensure all their residents get fed.

Some of these nursing homes are so profit-orientated that at times, there isn’t even sufficient staff to carry out the necessary functions for their resident. Many hire poorly trained staff because they quote cheaper pay than experienced staff, and as a result they hire poor trained staff, incapable of taking care of the elders. There are also cases where patients are left alone for days in their beds without food, and sometimes even lying in their own waste.

Medicated to Keep Quiet
Some nursing homes provide their residents with minimal access to professional medical care; and with minimal physicians and nurses on duty at these nursing homes, residents are sometimes medicated-not with the intention of treating them properly, but just to keep them quiet.

With so much going on behind the doors of some New York nursing homes, the families of these elderly people have had to turn to civil litigation for justice. It is only if a worker or an institution is charged for their wrongdoings that it’s possible for you to get justice for any form of New York nursing home abuse your loved one may be going through. Contact a specialized New York nursing home abuse attorney for further discussions and see if they can aid you in getting justice for these terrible crimes.

Question by edgeofdarkness: how can l report resident abuse in a nursing home?
I am a cna(certified nursing assistant)
l know a lot of nursing homes deal with neglect and l want to report a nursing home. I have gone to my don the adon and administrator but nothing gets done. I have days off and when l come back to work. People have sores and bruises. They are falsifying documents to make it read different than what actually happened. When l report it to them (chain of command) .Nothing is done . l have been told by my don. “l don’t want to hear it”. “you are starting to p*** me off” and have been told to lie to the government during a state survey. lf anyone one has any advice of who to contact in the state of michigan please let me know. Until l have a legal ground to stand on l am not going to say much in fear of losing my job. and letting them win, and nothing ever being done. So on behalf of the residents in the place l work please help us find a voice.

Best answer:

Answer by Teeby
Call the police since what’s going on is neglect/abuse of a vulnerable adult.

Add your own answer in the comments!


60 Minutes Reading Nursing Homes E-Book Makes Critical Difference for Elderly

WOOD RIVER, IL, (PRWEB) June 20, 2006

In 2004, there were over a quarter million complaints filed against nursing homes, says the Department of Health and Human Services. And over 75 percent of those complaints involved residents’ rights, resident care, or quality of life. “Today, Americans are living longer, and sadly, nursing home neglect and abuse is on the rise,” said attorney Brad Lakin, author of the free e-book, “How to Select a Nursing Home for a Loved One” (http://www.nursinghomechoice.com). “It’s unfortunate, but children considering nursing home care for their elderly parents worry about what will happen once they leave their parents in a nursing home.”

 

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of Americans aged 65 years and older who reside in nursing homes jumped by a half million between 1974 and 1999 (the last year for which figures are available). Nevertheless, Lakin points out, family members are often overwhelmed by the process of choosing a nursing home. “If you don’t know what questions to ask or what to look for, it’s impossible to make an informed choice about what is already a difficult decision,” he said.

 

Lakin’s track record as an elder rights advocate along with a personal tragedy involving nursing home neglect inspired him to write “How to Select a Nursing Home for a Loved One,” and to offer it as a free download on NursingHomeChoice.com. “I wanted to provide consumers with a comprehensive guide to nursing home care,” he said. “Because they don’t have a voice for themselves, it’s important that families of the elderly are well-informed advocates who can speak on their behalf.”

 

“How to Select a Nursing Home for a Loved One” includes detailed information about locating and evaluating nursing homes; reviewing state surveys and complaint investigations to check a nursing home’s track record; and the warning signs of abuse and neglect. In addition, the e-book provides a myriad of checklists and resources, including a Nursing Home Checklist that serves as a guide when considering a specific nursing home; the Nursing Home Resident’s “Bill of Rights”; and hyperlinks to inspection information, and local and state sources of information.

 

“Spending 60 minutes reading ‘How to Select a Nursing Home for a Loved One’ can prevent a personal tragedy,” said Lakin, whose firm has litigated numerous cases of elder abuse and neglect. “Despite the revenues generated by the nursing home industry, many nursing homes are understaffed or hire unqualified staff.” Lakin strongly feels that states often leave the policing of nursing homes to attorneys. “Most states have adopted nursing home care statutes, but regulations are only as good as the level of enforcement,” he said. “Unfortunately, monitoring is underfunded in virtually every state, leaving litigation as the only alternative to hold nursing homes accountable for their actions.”

 

Lakin concludes, “If there’s one thing I want ‘How to Select a Nursing Home for a Love One’ to do, it’s to help families choose quality nursing care facilities, which will lessen personal tragedies.”

 

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Tags: Abuse, Home, Nursing, York

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