They are among the absolute last places anyone wants to end up, but about “1.6 million people now live in nursing homes in the United States. Thirty years from now, it’s expected to be 5 million,” according to a CBS report. “Many patients are at risk because one out of four nursing homes every year is cited for causing death or serious injury to a resident, according to government figures. Eighty-three percent of elderly Americans would stay in their homes until the end if they could. Thirty percent say they’d rather die than go into a nursing home. Actually, their fears may be well founded.” A CBS News analysis of the federal government’s nursing home inspection database finds more than 1,000 homes were cited last year for hiring staff with a history of abuse.
According to The New York Times, “names of more than 35,000 nursing home employees were checked against FBI records, and this study found that almost 50 percent of elder care facilities and nursing homes had five or more employees with at least one conviction.” Under federal law, it is illegal for nursing homes to employ anyone found guilty of abusing, neglecting or mistreating patients. Since 2002, 25% of abuse was committed by someone with a criminal record.
Currently, only 10 states require a check of FBI and state records; 33 states require a check of state records, and the rest don’t have any specific requirements.
The Special Investigations Division of the House Government Reform Committee prepared a study of nursing home abuse, not only physical, but emotional, sexual, identity theft, financial abuse, medicine errors, withholding or delaying of toileting and other sanitation and hygiene help, food water etc. These abuses can be from a staff member or another patient.
Broken bones and bruises are easy to see, but if you suspect that your loved one is being abused, don’t wait, act immediately to make sure they are safe. “Neglect is the silent killer” reports CBS news, “By some estimates, malnutrition, dehydration, bedsores and infection, caused by neglect account for half of nursing home deaths and injuries.”
If you or you suspect someone you love is being abused in any “care” facility, Shpoonkle can help connect you to an attorney.
