When you entrust your beloved relative to a nursing home or assisted living facility, the last thing you'd expect to find is their picture splashed all over social media -- especially when they're being mocked and assaulted for someone's amusement.
Don't let your loved one suffer emotional abuse in nursing care
Bedsores, an all-too-common nursing home injury
If you have a loved one in a nursing home in Ohio, you may be worried about the possibility of abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, cases involving one or the other have been reported even at the highest-rated facilities across the U.S. This is why you will want to know what the common signs of abuse and neglect are. Take, for instance, bedsores.
Are those bruises on your mother a sign of nursing home abuse?
Imagine this: You go to visit your mother at the nursing home and find her arms covered with bruises. She shrugs off your questions and doesn't seem to have an explanation for the marks. You ask the nurse on duty about them and are told, "That happens to old people. Their skin is just so thin."
Audit: elder care complaints not being properly investigated
Ohio residents who have a loved one in a nursing home should know that elder abuse and neglect are always possible no matter how highly rated a facility is. Not only that, but the reports of such abuse and neglect often go for months without a formal investigation.
Charges filed in nursing home deaths
When people in Ohio find themselves unable to care for their elderly loved ones, they may turn to a nursing home or other care facility for assistance. The costs associated with elder care can be substantial, but paying high fees does not always protect elder residents from neglect and abuse. One Florida case that emerged amid the devastation of Hurricane Irma drew attention to the mistreatment of older people held in nursing homes. In 2017, 12 patients at one home died in the heat after the hurricane disabled the air conditioning at the home. Now, four people are facing charges of aggravated manslaughter in the case.
Hypoxia injuries can be a sign of nursing home neglect
Nursing homes often try to cut as many costs as they can -- often at the expense of the patients they're supposed to protecting.
Nursing homes and hospices can be dangerous places for patients
Nursing homes in Ohio and throughout the nation are designed to provide care to those who can't care for themselves. However, reports indicate that some facilities are putting their residents' lives in danger by offering substandard care. In many cases, state and federal government agencies don't have the resources to go after these facilities and hold them accountable for their actions.
Rape of elderly woman draw attention to assisted living issues
"Assisted living" is supposed to be a better alternative than a regular nursing home for senior citizens who cannot live alone. However, an analysis by the Plain Dealer determined that regulations in Ohio that govern assisted living facility seem to be poorly designed, outdated and not up to the task of keeping residents safe.
Studies show many elder abuse cases go unreported
Two new studies show that nursing home abuse is being underreported in Ohio and the rest of the U.S. Both have been published by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The trend here should be of concern to everyone because when abuse is not reported, it cannot be investigated and tracked.
Drug theft: A hidden type of nursing home abuse
Drug theft in nursing homes is a big problem -- although nobody knows exactly how big. After all, nursing homes aren't exactly eager to advertise the fact that nurses and aides are able to divert drugs away from their patients so easily.
