Three Tips To Protect Your Loved One From Nursing Home Abuse
Posted on: 13 October 2016
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If you have put your elderly parent or grandparent in a nursing home, you have to be mindful that while the nursing home may have appeared to be perfect the first day you took a tour, that doesn't always mean that it is perfect. In fact, there could even just be one staff member that is abusive and not helpful towards your elderly parent or grandparent. This means that not only are you not getting what you have paid for, but your parent or grandparent is not being treated with the respect that they deserve. Here are three tips to ensure that your loved one is protected from nursing home abuse:
Always Check for Signs of Abuse:
When you visit your loved one, you always need to be on the lookout for signs of abuse even if everything appears to be fine. There are some obvious signs, such as bed sores, which means that your elderly parent is not being helped out of bed and encouraged to be active. Also, if your loved one has obviously lost a significant amount of weight, then they aren't being fed the proper diet. However, there are some other signs that could be signs of abuse or could be from your loved one's deteriorating health, such as bruises. It's important that you talk to the nurse about where the bruise came from. There should be well-documented notes explaining when and where your loved one has fallen that made the bruise appear. If there are no notes such as these, then it's important to investigate a bit further and take it as a sign of abuse.
Mix Up Your Visit Days and Times:
Some nurses will track when visitors come and go. If there aren't often visitors or they know that you only come at a certain time and day, then chances of abuse are higher. However, when you mix up the times that you visit, you can be sure that you are there to monitor whether or not your loved one is getting the proper care that they need at all times.
Make a Report:
Finally, if you feel that there are obvious signs of abuse or you have seen it yourself, you need to file a report against the facility. This is usually done through the adult protective services. Be sure to talk to a nursing home abuse attorney to know how to properly file your report and with whom. Then you can begin the process of suing with a skilled attorney by your side who deals specifically with elderly abuse cases.
When you utilize these three tips, you can be sure that your elderly parent or grandparent is taken care of and respected as they should be in their old age.