... 2 The thought of abuse in elderly are very disturbing but it does happen. They are very vulnerable and dependent on other people to function in everyday life. Resident abuse in nursing homes facility or home care facility is a problem all over the world, but has become less of a concern in America, because the Department of Health Services become very strict on rules and regulation for nursing home and home care. This is for the protection of elderly and to provide the best care for them and have a quality of living. Nursing homes provide best patient care and services for elder patients and well being of these residents are provided. Most of the workers in the nursing home are caring, compassionate and conscientious and help their patients in their everyday life from bathing, eating, activities, and total patient care if needed. However, some time in other facility, staff, fellow residents or sometimes visitors to the facility may be guilty of abusing patients in some point, this will cost a lot because it is a federal felony to abuse a patient and may cause jail time and penalty. Different Types of Elder Abuse: •Physical Abuse: The most common type of abuse in elderly. This is a type of abuse that the caregiver force the senior citizen to do something that the caregiver wants him to do. Physical abuse can be hitting, pushing, confining and restraining the elderly. •Emotional Abuse: This type of abuse can cause emotional stress and pain...
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...Elder Neglect and Abuse The latter years of a person's life have been called the "golden years" unfortunately the numbers of elders being abused are growing each year. Gray-Vickrey (2001) reports that neglect occurs in 49 percent of substantiated elder abuse cases, emotional abuse is found in 35 percent of cases, financial abuse is found in 30 percent of cases, and physical abuse or use of physical force is found in 25 percent of cases. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates more than half a million of our nation’s elders are mistreated each year, of course the numbers may be three times higher since few cases of abuse are reported or investigated (Axmaker, 2003). Experts estimate the number of older adults who are mistreated annually at more than two million (Swagerty, 1999, p.2804). A U.S. National Elder Abuse Incidence Study confirmed that reported elder abuse cases are only the "tip of the iceberg" (National Center on Elder Abuse, 2003). The study also shown that two-thirds of the offenders were adult children or spouses. Additionally, elders are being abused in nursing homes, hospitals, or other institutions; in one study, 36 percent of nursing home staff stated that they had witnessed at least one physical abuse incident with an elderly patient (Nelson, 2002). Clearly, elder mistreatment or abuse of the elderly is a growing social occurrence. Unfortunately, our elder population is considered to be easy targets because they are perceived to be fragile and defenseless...
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...Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect May 30, 2015 HSC 300 – Legal and Ethical Issues and Health Professions Dr. Louis Yu 6 Warning Signs of Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect 6 Warning Signs of nursing Home Abuse & Neglect, by Consumer Justice Group (2015), is an interesting article about what senior citizens may experience if they are residing in a nursing home. In Chapter 13 - Patient Abuse, of Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals, Pogzar mentions how serious senior abuse is in America. According to Pogzar (2013), “Most states have enacted statutes mandating the reporting of senior abuse. Seniors often fail to report incidents of abuse because they fear retaliation and being believed. Undue pain, abandonment, and premature death should not happen to senior citizens that are living in a nursing home but it does happen often. The article gives 6 warning signs to be aware if an individual has a loved one in a nursing home or assistant living facility. The most common is weight loss, bruises, bedsores, falls, staff inattention and restraints. Negligent nursing homes often do not have the sufficient amount of staff members to care for their resident. The staff may not provide or ensure that the resident is getting the proper nutrition needed and the most medication of the elderly affects their appetite and they do not want to eat. Bruises are obviously another sign of abuse. Any injury such...
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...Violence towards Nurses in the Health Care Sector We have all heard before of the abuse and violence that happen in nursing homes; but what we tend to hear more about is how nurses are abusing patients, those being patients that are older, disabled and coming closer to the end of their life span. Patients sometimes receive such negative abuse from nurses, this consists of physical abuse which is defined as any action with the intention to cause any physical or bodily harm to someone; for example this would include a nurse hitting or slapping a patient or even pushing them around. You often hear about nurses neglecting their patients, this is a deliberate action where nurses deprive the patients of what they need, this includes a nurse that purposely withholds a patient from eating, drinking or giving them their medication ("Abuse in Canada's Nursing Homes", 2012). It’s quite sad to see how this action takes place in nursing homes; a nursing home is a place for the elderly to go to because they can no longer take care of themselves and they need the assistance in their day to day activities. The nurses in long-term care facilities are there to provide residents with the care that they need and require, as they cannot do it themselves. Patients will often receive mental abuse from staff, that is, an act with the intention to cause any emotional harm to someone ("Abuse in Canada's Nursing Homes", 2012). You often hear about nurses yelling or threatening patients; this seems hard...
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... | Elderly Abuse and Neglect When discussing abuse and neglect we often think of children first. That being said, children are not the only ones who will be abused and/or neglected. In fact, this happens to some elderly as well. While some elderly may be productive enough to care for themselves, others are not. The end result is a complete (or close to complete) dependency on someone else for their needs. In addition, just like with children, this dependency can lead to abuse and/or neglect. There has been an increase in the number of elderly that have been subjected to violence and mistreatment. This type of treatment is associated with the individual’s dependency on others; whether it be a relative, acquaintance and/or institution (Meadows, 2010). According to estimates “between 1 and 2 million Americans aged 65 years or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for case or protection (National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of elder abuse and neglect, 2003)” (Meadows, 2010, p. 87). The type of abuse that elderly get subjected to is not only physical, it may also be emotional. Obviously, abuse may take on many different forms and may include: financial abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. This abuse is not limited to certain circumstances it can happen in poor, middle-class or upper income household...
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...for the person when they are no longer able to do so, and where they will live. In today's society, nursing homes are a favored choice regardless of the gender, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status with approximately 352, 300 seniors living in special-care facilities throughout Canada (Stat Can, 2013). To many, nursing homes are seen as an ideal living arrangement for their loved elders, unfortunately that is not the reality for all seniors in these nursing homes. What seniors are led to believe is their new haven, may in fact, be just the opposite. Elders in Ontario nursing homes are being beaten, neglected and even sexually assaulted by people who were hired to care for them (McLean & Welsh, 2011). According to the reports that the Star was able to obtain, more than 10 residents in Ontario each month are verbally, physically and sexually assaulted (McLean & Welsh, 2011). Many reported abuse cases have been life-threatening and have led to death due to assault and neglect. Despite the provincial vow of improved care in these homes, it is evident that seniors are facing the same problems with abuse in nursing homes today. On November 17th, 2011, the Star examined 70 percent of the inspection reports from last year, 1500 reports in total, and serious problems were located in 900 of the cases. Of these 900, approximately 350 revealed neglect of seniors, 125 were abuse related and the remainder found other types of mistreatment and poor care (McLean & Welsh, 2011)...
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...The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study, conducted by the National Center on Elder Abuse at the American Public Human Services Association for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examined the prevalence of elder abuse in the United States. It found approximately 450,000 elderly persons were abused or neglected (Wallace, 2005). While the majority of abuse happens in the home by a family member, there is a rise in the amount of elderly abuse being reported in nursing homes. In 2000, states were asked to indicate the number of elder abuse reports received from nursing homes. Based on figures from 54 states, the total number of reports was 472,813 (Teaster, 2003). A study prepared by the minority staff of the Special Investigations Division of the House Government Reform Committee found that 30% of nursing homes in the United States, 5,283 facilities, were cited for almost 9,000 instances of abuse from 1999 to 2001 (Waxman, 2001). The report stated that 1,601 of these instances could have or did cause the resident serious injury or death. The instances reported ranged from physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, bedsores, inadequate medical care, malnutrition, dehydration, preventable accidents, inadequate sanitation and hygiene. Some other shocking finds of the report were that more than 40% of the abuse violations were not reported until formal complaints was brought by residents or family members. 1,327 of the nursing homes were cited more than once...
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...Social Problems 2601 “Aging Nursing Home Dysfunctions” Do you have a loved one in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or long-term care center? Do you suspect neglect or abuse happening or even worse a sudden, unexplained death? Do not allow owners of nursing homes to line their pockets with your hard earned money, while their facilities are dangerous and unsanitary for your family members. Abuse is happening everyday all over the world; senior citizens are at a vulnerable stage in life, when they may not be able to defend themselves. Every year, tens of thousands of elderly Americans are abused in their own homes, and even in facilities responsible for their care. If you suspect that an elderly person you know is being harmed physically or emotionally by a neglectful or overwhelmed caregiver or being preyed upon financially. By learning the signs and symptoms of elder abuse and how to act on behalf of an elderly person who is being abused, you’ll not only be helping someone else but strengthening defenses against elder abuse in the future. Many early signs of elderly abuse are commonly over looked due to carelessness, lack of knowledge and many times understaffed facilities. Look out for the signs of abuse and or neglect. Signs and Symptoms of Abuse and or neglect are as followed; Visible injuries are, naturally, the type that you will pick up on right away. Examples are broken bones due to extreme falls, cuts, scars, extensive bruising and bed sores (pressure...
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...ELDER ABUSE IN NURSING HOMES: THE IMPACT OF DEMENTIA/SPECIAL CARE UNITS BY CHRISTINA KAY FALK THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Community Health in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 Urbana, Illinois Adviser: Stephen J. Notaro, Ph.D. ii ELDER ABUSE IN NURSING HOMES: THE IMPACT OF DEMENTIA/SPECIAL CARE UNITS By: Christina K. Falk Elder abuse is a topic that impacts everyone in America at some point in their life. Special care units also called dementia units are protected areas in a nursing home that are specially designed for dementia/Alzheimer patients. This thesis reviewed how a special care unit in a nursing home affect the number and severity of deficiencies reported to Medicare. The data was collected from Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare system and the Illinois Public Health Department. This study reviewed 770 nursing homes in Illinois were reviewed, 141 had special care units during the time of data collection. The facilities had a range of total deficiencies from one to 74 with Level of Harm ratings ranging from one to four on a four-point scale. The results showed that residents in a nursing facility that has a special care unit are at a greater risk of a higher Level of Harm but no difference in the number of deficiencies. Possible causes of this greater risk are due to the intrinsic nature of the population in special care units, the need for policy and procedural...
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...homicide by arising from a residents’ death while acting as an administrator? 2) And was the evidence sufficient to support conviction of twelve counts of abuse of nursing home residents? Answer: 1) Yes 2) No Holding: 1) The evidence was not sufficient to support a conviction of homicide by arising from a residents’ death while acting as an administrator 2) The evidence was sufficient to support conviction of twelve counts of abuse of nursing home residents. Brief Statement of Facts: Defendant Stephen Serebin and owners of “Glendale” were charged with one count of homicide by reckless conduct and fifty-eight counts of abuse of inmates, for incidents that occurred December 20, 1975- June 30, 1976. Serebin was the administrator at Glendale nursing home from 1973 to 1977. The homicide charge was from an incident on February 7, 1976. A resident of Glendale, Bruno Dreyer, wandered out of the nursing home unseen and died from exposure to the cold. The charges of abuse stemmed from various residents who lost weight and developed bedsores. Serebin was the administrator and was held responsible for failing to provide a sufficient staff and an adequate diet for the residents of Glendale, and for the death of Bruno Dreyer. The Circuit Court found Serebin guilty of homicide and twelve counts of inmate abuse. Serebin petitioned for bypass of the court of appeals. It was denied on September 21,...
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...Elder abuse and neglect among the elderly is one of the many challenges we face today. Elder mistreatment is a common, yet frequently ignored problem in our society. The elderly population is increasing dramatically. By the year, 00 demographic predictors say the population of 65+ will grow to 70 million, which represents a 100 percent increase over 0 years. So elderly abuse and neglect will continue to be serious problem in the United States. It is estimated that in the year 000 “11,000 Americans age 65 or older experienced a violent crime”. Elder abuse not only happens in institutional settings, but it is also appearing in domestic settings. The close, extended, and often times unsupervised visits that helpers have with patients has increasingly highlighted the need to protect elderly clients. Like any other form of abuse, elder abuse is a multifaceted problem, and it is easy for people to have misconceptions about it. When you hear the words “elder abuse and neglect” you often times think of elderly people sitting all alone in nursing homes with no visitors. But I have mentioned earlier that elder abuse is not just a problem of older people living in nursing homes, but it is right in our midst. Most of the incidents of elder abuse doesn’t happen in a nursing home setting. Often times there are reports of nursing home residents who are mistreated, but for the most part elder abuse takes place in the home. When elder abuse happens in the home it is usually done by a family...
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...Nursing Home Crisis Many may not understand what goes on at a nursing home. They think that it is easy work just taking care of the basic needs of a resident. As for the time that I have been a nurse aide I have found how hard of work being a nurse aide is and how much many nursing home forget the importance of meeting the basic needs of their residents. You would think that this would be the most important aspect that all nursing homes must meet, but just like every other business a nursing home is also money base, it is not charity. Many times in this hard economy nursing homes have to make cuts, and unfortunately they are cutting all in the wrong places. Many times office jobs in the nursing home are the last to be cut and the nurse aides are the first to be cut, and the reason being is because many states do not have laws stating the aide to resident ratio. Today, a local nursing home has just got a new hope in recovering the problem of the loss of success that their nursing home has encountered. They have begun to cut nurse aides and have begun to run the halls short-handed, unfortunately their complaints have went up and their residents have become very unhappy. The nursing home has now decided to fire the current administrator and hire a new administrator in hope for new ideas and better success for their nursing home. Although the new administrator has many difficult problems to solve she has a lot of faith in recovering the problem the nursing home is now encountering...
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...LTC 352 Unit 2: Lessons 4-6 G Garrett Lesson 4 1. Use the information you have gained in this lesson to identify key resident right issues in the case below: The resident is an alert, 65-year-old male. A fractured hip occurred when he fell at home. He lived alone up until this time. He was hospitalized following surgery and received physical therapy while in the hospital. He is alert and oriented. He shows no signs of mental illness. He suffers from COPD, occasional CHF, and osteoporosis. The nursing home facility’s physician explains the treatment plan to the resident, which includes physical therapy, occupational therapy, and a low salt diet. The resident has no complaints, except that he is happy to be wheeled around in the wheelchair by the staff. He refuses PT and OT. Also, he keeps a salt shaker in his shirt pocket and takes his meals in his room. What is your plan as the Administrator in the nursing home in caring for this resident while balancing his resident rights? As the Administrator I will ensure the resident rights for this resident are provided and that the facility’s staff follows policies and procedures. Upon Admissions the resident would be provided a copy of the facility’s admission packet/contract, including payment sources and written information regarding his rights and facility policies. At the time of admissions the resident would be given written information concerning his rights to make decision concerning medical care, including...
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...Elder Abuse 1. What is elder abuse? “Domestic elder abuse generally refers to any of the following types of mistreatment that are committed by someone with whom the elder has a special relationship (for example, a spouse, sibling, child, friend, or caregiver),” (Frequently asked questions, n.d.). “Institutional abuse generally refers to any of the following types of mistreatment occurring in residential facilities (such as a nursing home, assisted living facility, group home, board and care facility, foster home, etc.) and is usually perpetrated by someone with a legal or contractual obligation to provide some element of care or protection,” (Frequently asked questions, n.d.). 2. What are the recognized types of elder abuse? The following types of abuse are commonly accepted as the major categories of elder mistreatment: * Physical Abuse—Inflicting, or threatening to inflict, physical pain or injury on a vulnerable elder, or depriving them of a basic need. * Emotional Abuse—Inflicting mental pain, anguish, or distress on an elder person through verbal or nonverbal acts. * Sexual Abuse—Non-consensual sexual contact of any kind, coercing an elder to witness sexual behaviors. * Exploitation—Illegal taking, misuse, or concealment of funds, property, or assets of a vulnerable elder. * Neglect—Refusal or failure by those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care or protection for a vulnerable elder. * Abandonment—The desertion of a vulnerable...
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...Vulnerable adults are among most vulnerable of the populations, many people associate vulnerability with old age only, resulting in negative stereotypical views. Understanding the concepts of vulnerability as relates to adults population, examines how and why adults could be vulnerable will help nurse to educates the vulnerable adults about the rights and choices available to them, enabling nurse to safeguarding the vulnerable adults and empower the vulnerable adults to participate fully in the society. Data Sources. Data source include the Nursing Standard, The PubMed, Health & Social Care information Centre (hscic), Department of Health, Action on Elder Abuse, Offices of National Statistics (ONS), electronic databases were used to search for research papers, articles published between 2000-2013. The searching keywords used are ‘Vulnerable’, ‘Abuse’, ‘vulnerability’, ‘safeguarding’. Seventeen papers from variety of disciplines, including nursing, public health, social-care and medicine were reviewed. Method. The concept analysis was done using Rodgers’ evolutionary method. Rodgers (2000) method of concept analysis was chosen because it is evolutionary in nature. Rodger method is not a fixed phenomenon but evolves over time. Surrogate Terms/Related Every disciplines ranging from economics and anthropology to psychology, science and engineering use the term vulnerability. The term vulnerability originates from the word vulnerable. According to...
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