It’s heart wrenching to hear, but senior abuse is real.
And unfortunately, it often takes place in institutions that are meant to be a safe place for seniors.
We’re talking About nursing homes and senior facilities. Places where you give over your senior to be respected and cared for, and instead your senior is given shame and hurt. Often times resulting in worsened health and/or senior loneliness.
Sometimes, the abuse is simply due to accidental negligence.
Sometimes, it is purposeful.
Real Life Horror Stories
Last month, a 65-year old nursing home patient was found with a swastika drawn on his head. His clothes were unclean, his skin was bruised, and he had very clearly been mistreated.
Several months earlier, in June, the Winston-Salem Police Department had to open an investigation into 3 nursing home workers. These nursing home aids were reported to have been pushing patients with dementia to physically fight with one another as if in a fighting pit.
That same month, at a different senior care facility, a 63-year old woman had to undergo surgical repair on her foot because of an untreated bed sore. The facility had neglected to inform the senior’s family about a pressure sore developing on her foot, until it festered and grew to the point of endangering her entire foot.
The list of incidents goes on, the number of victims increases, and the statistics of senior abuse rises.
Types of Senior Abuse
Senior abuse can come in many different forms.
- It can be physical, where nursing home aids physically assault a senior.
- It can be emotional, where seniors are spoken to disrespectfully, ignored, yelled at, and/or intimidated.
- It can be financial, where seniors are stolen from or tricked into giving up their money.
- It can be neglect, where seniors are purposefully disregarded (like in the last case).
The difficulty with senior abuse, aside from the obvious moral violation, is that it’s often not reported immediately, if even at all. In many cases, nursing staff and senior care administration fail to alert the senior’s family or police. And so, the abuse continues until a family member finally has a chance to notice and put a stop to the outrageous behavior.
How you can save your loved ones from senior abuse?
When you leave your senior alone and in the sole care of someone else, you can never really know what’s going on.
That’s why, we highly recommend at-home care.
With Home Care services, you can see exactly what is happening, when and how. You can check in on your loved one at any time. And, your loved one has the comfortability of being surrounded by the things he or she loves.
Home care aids give you better control over your loved one’s situation, and keep you better in the loop as to your senior’s emotional status and well-being.
Home is where the heart is.
Home is where your senior should be.
