Reporting Suspected Nursing Home Abuse
Date Published: Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Nursing home abuse, though despicable, is hardly uncommon. Although laws vary by state, most states do have laws—which include criminal penalties—in place to protect senior citizens from elder abuse; nursing homes are not exempt from these laws.
Unfortunately, nursing home abuse tends to be underreported because individual homes do not take elder abuse seriously and residents fear embarrassment, injury, even incapacitation for speaking up. As with any abuse, the only way to prevent more instances is to stop it immediately as soon as abuse is suspected.
If someone is in life-threatening danger, call 911 immediately. If danger is not immediate, but abuse is suspected, tell someone trustworthy. Contact local adult protective services by speaking with the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 between 9:00 am and 8:00 pm Monday-Friday Eastern Time.
When making a call to report abuse, be able to provide the elder victim’s address and contact information; known medical problems, including confusion or memory loss; family or other social support system; types of abuse and if any incidents of hitting, yelling, or other abusive behavior have been witnessed; and the caller’s name, address, phone number, and contact method to discuss the abuse. When reporting abuse and not related to the victim, a nursing home abuse hotline is the best option and each state has organizations that monitor these hotlines and can offer assistance. If making a formal complaint against a specific nursing home or staff member, find a sitter to monitor the victim or remove the victim from the facility. Abuse sometimes increases following complaint initiation.
Also in February, the Bush administration finally published the names of 131 of the nation’s worst nursing homes. There are about 16,400 nursing homes nationwide and taxpayers spend about $72.5 billion annually to subsidize nursing home care. The document containing the nursing homes cited can be accessed at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CertificationandComplianc/Downloads/SFFList.pdf
Abridged
SOURCE: NewsInferno
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