Negligence & Abuse in BRIA of Forest Edge

It is difficult to trust strangers, even trained professionals, with the care of our loved ones. You may feel better if you brush up on some of the signs of nursing home abuse so you can be informed and know when to step in if something ever goes wrong for your relative.

There are five generally recognized forms of nursing home abuse: physical, sexual, emotional, financial, and neglect. There are innumerable ways to abuse a vulnerable person and many different signs for each. Some signs overlap. Learning just some of the basic ones though can go a long way in detecting abuse and neglect in a nursing home environment.

Physical abuse is anything that causes physical harm, whether intentionally or due to neglect. Some signs of physical abuse include unexplained injuries or bruises and scars from injuries, signs of restraint such as rope marks on the wrist, broken eyeglasses, frequent trips to the ER or doctor, and a pattern of accidents.

Sexual abuse is unwanted and non-consensual sexual attention or contact. Some signs of sexual abuse are unexplained STDs, vaginal or anal bleeding, and bruising around the genitals or breasts.

Emotional or psychological abuse can include verbal abuse such as yelling, criticizing, taunting, threatening, or name calling. It also includes anything done to humiliate, scare, shame, or otherwise disrespect a person.

An emotionally abused nursing home resident might display sudden unusual behaviors such as mumbling, sucking their thumb, sleeplessness, aggression, or rocking back and forth. Unfortunately, these signs are similar to dementia symptoms, which many nursing home residents have, so unless you witness emotional abuse, it can be very difficult to recognize or prove.

Financial abuse and exploitation occur when a caregiver takes advantage of their access to a resident’s finances and steals their personal information or money. It can also involve stealing money or valuables from their person or room. Missing items, unexplained account withdrawals, changes to documents to benefit a caregiver, or other unusual banking activities can all indicate financial abuse.

Finally, while neglect is different from abuse in that it is usually more passive and often accidental, it is nevertheless just as harmful. Neglect is the failure to meet a dependent person’s needs. Signs of neglect are probably the most numerous and varied, but can include unsafe living conditions, dirty clothes, unkempt hair and nails, poor hygiene, dirty or dangerous living conditions, bedsores, dehydration, sudden unexplained weight loss, episodes of wandering or elopement, and poor sanitation practices.

All of these kinds of abuse put vulnerable nursing home residents at risk for real harm. While it’s difficult for nursing home facilities to cater to everyone’s personal preferences, they should never allow living conditions or staff behavior to cause mental or physical pain or discomfort to defenseless residents. It is every nursing home’s legal responsibility to keep its residents safe and in the best health possible at all times.