Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Elder Abuse: Nursing Home Guide

It is painful to hear the reports about elder abuse that can occur at assisted living facilities and nursing homes. I've worked at 3 assisted living facilities and have seen people happy as well as unhappy at each facility. Part of a nursing home guide is to know that some staff are very concerned about patients and others are more into texting and their own situations.

There are various forms of elder abuse and these include bed sores; malnutrition; ; physical, emotion, or sexual abuse; falls without supervision or follow up and dehydration. Sometimes residents want to just stay in bed and not get out. Other times, there can be negligence by the staff. An important part of a nursing home guide is to make visits before moving in a loved one and continue to check out the facility at random times to see what care is present.

Also some facilities have patients from other situations such as younger people with drug problems, those injured by an accident that put them in a wheelchair or the mentally retarded. Find out the resident to staff ratio. Learn more about nursing home abuse guide