Nursing Home Abuse

    LANCASTER, PA, August 18, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When your elder enters a nursing home, you and your loved one are entrusting a great deal of trust to the facility. As your loved one ages, the nursing home staff will be responsible for providing care and proper living conditions.

When nursing home staff violates this trust, the abuse can take many different forms. It may be difficult for you to recognize nursing home abuse, especially if your elder does not reach out to you for help. If you suspect nursing home abuse, you should not immediately dismiss your concerns. Even if the signs you are seeing are not covered on this page, that does not mean abuse is not taking place.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse

Nursing home abuse can take many different forms:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Sexual
- Verbal
- Neglect or abandonment

Although abuse can take the form of physical assault, there are other less obvious forms as well. Nursing homes staff could be stealing money or valuables from your loved one, or they could be intimidating and emotionally abusive. Neglect, one of the most difficult forms of nursing home abuse to identify, occurs when staff does not fulfill their responsibilities to your loved one. Included in neglect is failure to provide basic care and hygiene, proper nutrition and comfort.

Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

Most nursing home residents have a difficult time admitting the abuse to family members and others because of feelings of humiliation. For this reason, it is important to be proactive when you suspect nursing home abuse.

Some of the most common signs of nursing home abuse include:
- Changes in health, such as sudden weight loss or malnutrition, or lack of concern for personal hygiene.
- Physical injuries, including bedsores, bruising and odd marks on the skin.
- Emotional changes, such as depression, irritability and withdrawal from social interaction.
- Any unusual changes you recognize as out of the ordinary.

It can be difficult to notice the exact signs of nursing home abuse. If you have a hunch or any reason to suspect nursing home abuse, you should proceed with first discussing the issue with your elder, and asking the nursing home administrator about your concerns.

You should also contact an attorney. A nursing home abuse attorney can investigate your case to determine if nursing home staff is at fault. You may also want to consider contacting the authorities or your local Adult Protective Services office.

To learn more about nursing home abuse, please visit the website of the experienced Lancaster and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania nursing home abuse attorneys at Atlee Hall, LLP at www.atleehall.com.

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