There will come a time in your life when you can no longer take care of the elderly in your family because of your work or your own family. Don’t feel bad about not having the capacity to care for your elders because it’s normal, especially if you’re still raising your kids during that time.
That is why nursing home facilities were created in the first place. These homes are run by caregivers and health workers that can give the elderly the assistance they need to continue living when their own families can’t provide them anymore.
But these happy places aren’t all that they are cranked up to be. There are many situations in which the elderly can be put in danger because of mistreatment and neglect, which can be detrimental to their physical and mental health.
Before you go and leave your loved ones in the care of your chosen facility, you should aggressively check their background to see if they have any previous cases of abuse, maltreatment, or neglect that aren’t stated on their websites. You won’t ever think that it can happen until it does, and here are some situations where it did.
Poor-quality Service
The elderly are vulnerable people who greatly depend on the care and assistance they receive from the staff for their everyday tasks. This is because they can no longer care for themselves alone, whether it is because of aging or serious health conditions.
However, not all nursing homes can provide adequate care for all their residents. Some elders are physically and psychologically harmed because of medical neglect and emotional abuse, which can manifest in depression because of harsh words, forced isolation, bedsores, or untreated infections.
Even unsanitary and unhygienic living conditions can be bad for the health of the elderly, who may have weaker immune systems. If you think that your loved one is suffering at the hands of the facility, then you should immediately ask for the assistance of a nursing home neglect attorney to get the justice your loved one deserves.
Hidden Charges
All facilities and care services come at a price. That’s understandable because a nursing home will need ample funding to provide the necessary care to their residents and staff wages. But what’s not understandable is if the facility takes advantage of the residents by milking their money.
Of course, not all facilities are guilty of this, but some treat their residents like cash cows by overcharging them for the services they receive. Inaccurate charges that are hidden behind complicated procedures can be considered healthcare fraud.
So if you’re going to entrust your loved one in a care facility, make sure that you’re only paying the bills for the services that your loved one actually receives and not more. If you can, be careful with the home you trust because they might use your loved one for financial exploitation too.
Staffing Problems
It’s not a secret that most nursing homes are understaffed, which can hinder the residents from receiving the proper care they were promised to have. You would think that with the amount you’re paying the facility to take care of your loved one, they would be able to hire sufficient staff.
But sadly, that is not the case. The understaffing problem in most nursing homes becomes evident when the residents start getting neglected and their overall conditions worsen. Those that need constant supervision, such as people with dementia or Alzheimer’s, can be put in harm’s way because of the lack of adequate staffing.
This problem makes placing the elderly in homes appear useless because the main reason that they were put there in the first place was so that they can be cared for properly. However, if the facilities fail to care for your loved one, then you’re just wasting your money.
Security and Safety Issues
Even the helpless elderly aren’t safe from sexual predators who are determined to satisfy their demons. In the last few decades, there have been people taking advantage of helpless residents inside nursing homes and assisted living facilities because they had inadequate security measures.
Sexual abusers can be anyone — the staff, a resident, or an undetected assailant disguising as part of the staff who broke into the home. Such tragic incidents could have been avoided if there were effective security measures in place and if the premises of the nursing homes were supervised accordingly.
When looking into potential homes for your loved one, be wary of these possibilities. You want your loved one to be kept safe and protected in the hands of the staff; not taken advantage of when they are at their weakest.
This is not to discourage you from sending your elderly to a care facility because there are plenty that stays true to their word. The main purpose of this is to raise awareness about what can happen behind closed doors and the potential risks that your loved one might face in strangers’ hands.
