How to detect nursing home abuse
07/17/2009
By Dan Churney
The Illinois Department of Public Health recently released a report that said a male resident molested 10 female residents at the county home during a six-month period this year and staff did not do enough to protect the victims. The male resident has been removed from the home.
Chicago attorney Rosenfeld said he was familiar with the report on the La Salle County home, as his office reviews such reports.
Rosenfeld specializes in lawsuits involving nursing home abuse and he keeps tabs on related issues with his Web site: NursingHomesAbuseBlog.com. He offers advice on a variety of categories that would be relevant to families with loved ones in nursing homes or long-term care facilities, including how to select a nursing home. His advice also includes links to other resources and references.
Chicago attorney Rosenfeld said he was familiar with the report on the La Salle County home, as his office reviews such reports.
Rosenfeld specializes in lawsuits involving nursing home abuse and he keeps tabs on related issues with his Web site: NursingHomesAbuseBlog.com. He offers advice on a variety of categories that would be relevant to families with loved ones in nursing homes or long-term care facilities, including how to select a nursing home. His advice also includes links to other resources and references.
Below are some questions and answers he feels relevant. In a recent interview with The Times, he answered the following questions. Also are included are questions he feels relevant to nursing home care.
A: Most involve residents victimizing residents, rather than staff victimizing residents. Some cases also involve visitors victimizing residents.
Q: What challenge do investigators face in gathering evidence?
A: The victim is usually disabled or suffering from Alzheimer's disease and thus unable to help investigators. In the case of the La Salle County Nursing Home, the Illinois Department of Public Health was fortunate enough victims were able to respond to questioning. The state usually does a good job of investigating. Abuse happens more than people realize.
Q: What is the typical reason abuse goes unchecked?
A: Short staffing. The facility may meet guidelines for proper number of staff, but it may not be what's really enough. It's dollars and cents. If they hire one or two more, they go over budget.
(Please go to SOURCE for full-text)
Abridged
SOURCE: MyWebTimes.com - Ottawa,IL,USA
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