Nursing homes are facilities that provide their residents a variety of services including, medical care, personal hygiene, supervision, among other services. They are there to treat and care for their residents to ensure that their health is not being compromised in any way. Many family members might require placing a loved one into these facilities because they have no other choice. A loved one might have a condition that could potentially become dangerous like Alzheimer’s, and are unable to care for them due to to the lack of experience and time. For this purpose, nursing homes are there to assist these individuals and ensure their health. Although these care facilities are there to provide quality care for their residents, some nursing homes have been found to do the contrary.
Residents are becoming victims of neglect and abuse all across the United States. These facilities where individual thought their loved ones would be living well, are in fact learning that their loved ones were in the wrong hands. Statistics show that most care of abuse and neglect of the elderly do not go reported, meaning that the numbers found are not the correct figures. Coming to learn that a loved one was abused or neglect while under the care of a healthcare provider like a nursing home could be enraging and heartbreaking. Lawyers for nursing home abuse in St. Petersburg have found ways to fight for the rights of these victims and assist the preventing future occurrences from happening to other residents.
Ways of Mishandling in Nursing Homes
Many individuals may be unaware of the variety of abuse and neglect that can be inflicted upon a resident. Some individual may think that abuse is just present in a physical manner, but that is not true. There are a number of ways that neglect or abuse can be endured by a resident of a nursing home including:
Mishandling in the physical form: Abuse in a physical way is one that will impact the resident the most physically. This abuse will bring on marks, broken bones, fractures, abrasions, scratches, and even death. Discovering physical abuse might be much easier than any other form of abuse because there will be signs that can be seen with the eye.
Mishandling in the emotional form: Abuse in an emotional way is often times not discovered initially. Signs of emotional abuse will not present itself right away because it might take awhile before a resident becomes affected by it. The most common way to tell whether emotional abuse is taking place is by noticing changes in the overall behavior of the resident. Are they acting differently? Are they isolating themselves? Are they angry?
Mishandling in the sexual form: Becoming a victim of sexual abuse can be psychologically traumatizing for the victim. Just imagine an elder person who might already be in a weak state of mind. Sexual abuse can further deteriorate their health. Cuts and bruises around the private areas or bleeding may suggest sexual abuse.
Mishandling in the financial form: Although many may not think of this, abuse can take on the financial form. The assets of a resident are often looked after by either a loved one or the facility itself. When there are changes in the personal funds of the resident like forged checks or property that goes missing, that might mean that financial abuse is taking place.
Because an elderly person can be abused in more ways than one, it is important to learn about every way possible and attempt to prevent it from occurring. An elder person may not be able to defend themselves, which is why loved ones need to make a stand for them.
Red Flags: Watch Out For These Sings in St. Petersburg Nursing Homes
Neglect and abuse that is taking place might be hard to uncover due to a number of factors. Employees of the nursing home, other residents, and loved ones need to be vigilant of the red flags that could be present in the elder person. Some of those include:
- Lack of monitoring that causes resident to fall regularly
- Lack of security that causes other residents to injure another
- Unclean environment indicating improper cleaning
- Physical irregularities like bruises or broken bones
- Lack of personal hygiene
- Sudden weight loss
- Dehydration
- Pressure sores developing
There are more red flags that could be present in a resident that should be further analyzed. Because so many forms of neglect and abuse can take place, it is essential that anyone who has a loved one in a nursing home takes the time to study the different red flags associated with neglect or abuse.
What Is Involved With Neglect and Abuse of The Elderly?
There are many elements involved with abuse and neglect of the elderly in nursing homes that the firm for nursing home abuse in St. Petersburg is shocked to hear of. There should never be a reason to commit such actions or omissions towards any person, especially one that is defenseless. Some reasons include:
- Lack of proper background investigations on staff members
- Insufficient security measures
- Uncertified medical providers
- High-risk residents not properly assessed during admission
- Uneven number of residents to health care professionals
- Stressed and angry employees of the nursing home
- Inappropriate cleaning methods
- Lack of care
Every case is unique. One thing that is certain is that no resident should become a victim of neglect or abuse in any way, shape, or form. Sadly, those expectations are unrealistic and every day, residents are being subjected to careless, and vengeful individuals.
Info on Abuse and Neglect In Nursing Home Facilities
Many may be shocked to hear of the statistics associated with nursing home neglect and abuse.
- About 40% of nursing homes have had reports of abuse
- Neglect has been reported by about 90% of residents or other residents throughout the U.S
- Abuse will affect one elder for every ten elder individuals
- There are reports every year of about 2 million cases of abuse
- A sad reality is not the majority of cases of abuse and neglect are never reported
How To Select The Best Fit For You
Selecting the best nursing home can serve the purpose to prevent any neglect or abuse taking place to a loved one, along with being vigilant of signs. Anyone who plans or already has a loved one in a nursing home but might be seeking other options can perform the following to ensure the best possible selection:
- Research and market down the best-qualified nursing homes in the area
- Having family members and friends discuss the possible facilities and inputting their opinion
- Visiting the Medicare and Medicaid websites to find the nursing homes that are certified
- Perform inspections of the prospective nursing home facility and ask as much question as possible to eliminate all concerns
- Conclude the overall quality of the nursing home before selecting
- Figure out whether the resident feels well with the facilities vibe
Just taking these actions can prevent any Old Folks’ Home neglect and abuse. Selecting a nursing home is not a simple task and requires extensive research.
Nursing Home Services in St. Petersburg, FL
Florida is filled with nursing homes and other facilities that provide services to the elder population like assisted living facilities. St. Petersburg has the following facilities available:
- Golfview HealthCARE Center
- The Marion and Bernard L. Samson Nursing Center
- Bon Secours Maria Manor
- Bayside Care Center
- Addington Place at College Harbor
- Concordia Manor
- Brentwood at St. Pete
- Gran Villa of St. Petersburg
- Bon Secours Place
- Blue Ridge by the Lake
Choosing which nursing home or assisted living facility to place a loved one in is a difficult decision. It is not as easy as seeing the first one and admitting the elder person to it. It is the duty of loved ones to perform investigations and interviews with each prospective senior health care facility in St. Petersburg to ensure that the best decision has been made. No one should just leap into a decision without having done the suggested actions. If everything is not done, guilty will take over the loved one if they find out that the resident was abused or neglected.
St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorneys Fighting For Victims
The firm of Percy Martinez in St. Petersburg for nursing home abuse has worked many years in order to ensure that their clients are seeing the best possible results in their case. Neglect and abuse that happens to an individual that is defenseless breaks the heart of the personal injury lawyer at the St. Petersburg firm. The firm expresses their deepest compassion and professional help for these victims. No one should have to go through that pain and suffering. Our loved ones are the most precious people in our lives, which is something that motivates the firm.