FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
How
prevalent a problem is elder abuse?
Elder
abuse is a serious problem that is
on the rise. It is estimated that
1,000,000 elderly Americans are victimized
each year. (This includes institutional
abuse, domestic abuse, and self-abuse.)
Experts have estimated that well over
30,000 older Americans die prematurely
due to some form of negligence, abuse
or mistreatment. As more and more
Americans become senior citizens,
it is almost inevitable that the incidence
of elder abuse will continue to rise.
What
is a nursing home?
Most
people would define a nursing home
as a multiple bed facility that assists
older Americans who cannot live by
themselves on a 24 hour-a-day basis.
Nursing home residents are often immobile,
have long-term illnesses, mental health
disabilities or rely on specific medical
care that is most effectively administered
in such a home.
Why
is there such a rise in elder abuse?
There
are numerous reasons for the rise
in elder abuse. Perhaps the single
most important reason for the rise
in negligent care is due to the growing
number of senior citizens in this
country. Another important factor
is that Americans are living longer
and staying in facilities for longer
periods of time. There has been a
rise in the number of nursing homes
and facilities to meet the demand
of the rising number of senior citizens.
Some of these facilities are staffed
by uninterested, abusive, and under-trained
staff that are often times the main
perpetrators of nursing home abuse.
Finally, nursing homes often place
tremendous stress on a staff that
is overworked and perhaps under-trained.
This can lead to low quality nursing
home care. Residents in such homes
are frequently ignored, neglected,
or physically abused.
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What
are the different types of abuse?
General
neglect is the most common type of
abuse and occurs when any associated
nursing home staff or related healthcare
professional does not fulfilling their
stated duty to residents. Physical
abuse occurs when someone uses physical
force to willfully inflicts bodily
injury, harm, pain, or damage to an
elderly person. Sexual abuse occurs
when any individual engages in nonconsensual
sexual contact of any kind with an
elderly person. Psychological or emotional
abuse occurs when a nursing home staff
or custodian willfully inflicts mental
and psychological pain, anguish, distress
or suffering towards an elder individual
using verbal or nonverbal acts. Abandonment
occurs when a custodian of an elderly
individual willfully abandons or deserts
an elderly person (when a reasonable
person would continue to provide care
of custody). Financial exploitation
occurs when an individual who controls
the finances of an elder exploits
their position and irresponsibly or
inappropriately use money, funds,
property, and assets that is intended
for use by an elder.
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What
is institutional abuse?
Institutional
abuse is any abuse suffered by a resident
living at a nursing home or other
assisted living facility. This can
include, but is not necessarily limited
to, nursing homes, foster homes, group
homes, board and care facilities.
Institutional abuse is committed by
any person who abuses, neglects, exploits,
or mistreats any person to whom they
have a legal or contractual obligation
to provide with a standard of care
or protection.
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Does
Medicare or Medicaid pay for the patient's
stay in a nursing home?
Medicare provides Federal health care
insurance for patients 65 years and
older. Medicaid gives funding to low-income
families. Both programs pay for certain
nursing home care in certain situations.
On average, half of nursing home care
is paid for by the patient.
What
are some of the considerations when
looking for a nursing home?
The
most important considerations when
looking for the right nursing home
include quality of care, treatment
of staff and residents by administration,
facilities that provide for special
needs of resident, location of facility
and financial considerations
Are
there preventative steps to safeguard
elders from suffering abuse?
Yes.
Monitor to make sure the nursing home
follows its personalized health and
care plans for your loved one. Make
sure that the home conducts an initial
assessment of the resident's functional
capacity. Keep a copy of a resident’s
federal and state rights. If your
loved one has difficulty moving around
or is bed ridden, check often for
bed sores that the staff may have
missed. Speak with the nursing home
about steps to prevent your loved
one from falling, which can cause
serious problems to their short and
long term health.
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 What should you do if you fear elder
abuse of your loved one?
If
you fear that abuse may have occurred,
you should be aware that defendants
often deny liability for their actions
or place the blame on other residents
or on the resident themselves. In
the majority of cases, abuse or neglect
is the fault of either a staff member
or the facility itself.
As
soon as you fear an injury has occurred,
begin collecting as many facts about
the case as you are able. The nursing
home, especially if they know they
are guilty, will not cooperate in
this process. The perpetrator of the
abuse or neglect may change their
stories, alter paperwork, or commit
other acts if they fear they are facing
legal action. This is why it is important
to gather material now so that it
makes it difficult for them to forge
documents, etc. later on.
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