| Nursing Home Abuse/Neglect has become a scary | | | | anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal |
| epidemic found in many countries. An elderly person | | | | acts. It can be verbal assaults, insults, threats, |
| needs constant attention and is therefore, entrusted | | | | intimidation, humiliation, and/or harassment. In addition, |
| to a nursing home which is supposed to take care of | | | | it is considered abuse to treat a capable resident as |
| their needs. Residents at these nursing homes are | | | | an child, giving the resident a "silent treatment", or |
| paying for the service and receive a very poor | | | | isolating them from his/her family, friends, or even |
| service in return. Their needs are ignored and they | | | | regular activities. |
| are not treated with respect. Some might even die | | | | Neglect This is defined as the refusal by the worker |
| because of negligence. This unfortunately has been | | | | to fulfill his or her obligations to the resident of a |
| growing and it can be very hard to prove this abuse. | | | | nursing home. It includes failing to give necessary |
| It is usually covered up by the staff at nursing | | | | care such as food, water, fresh clothing, personal |
| homes. | | | | hygiene, medicine, safety or even comfort. |
| There have been plenty of research done privately | | | | Abandonment, is also very serioius. Abandonment is |
| and by the government about the danger and abuse | | | | basicly the desertion of a nursing home resident by a |
| that people can suffer in a nursing home. In 1997, | | | | nursing home worker who has assumed responsibility |
| Time Magazine suggested that as many as 35,000 | | | | for providing care for the resident in question. |
| Americans were dying before their time, or suffering | | | | Financial or Material Exploitation This is the illegal or |
| unnecessary pain. | | | | improper use of funds, property or assets of a |
| There are different types of abuse: | | | | nursing home resident. It can be cashing a resident's |
| Physical Abuse This causes a body injury, physical | | | | checks without permission, forging a signature, |
| pain, or impairment. Some of the more common | | | | stealing money or any other belonging, deceiving so |
| practices of physical abuse include striking, with or | | | | that a resident may sign any document (contracts or |
| without an object, hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, | | | | will), and the improper use of guardianship, or power |
| shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and also burning. | | | | of attorney. |
| There is also the unnessessary use of drugs and | | | | There have been plenty of lawsuits to combat these |
| physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical | | | | people who take advantage of the most vulnerable. |
| punishment that also fall under the physical abuse | | | | Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is still a threat |
| criteria. | | | | today and it must be acted upon. The message must |
| Sexual Abuse Sexual abuse is a nonconsensual sexual | | | | be sent that these crimes will not go unpunished. If |
| contact of any kind with a nursing home resident. | | | | you or anyone you know has encountered any of |
| Sexual abuse can be anything from unwanted | | | | these types of abuses, it is imperative to file a |
| touching, sexual assault, rape, sodomy, coerced | | | | complaint in order to prevent any further abuse from |
| nudity or even nude photography. | | | | taking place. |
| Emotional or Psychological Abuse This is inflicting | | | | |