What Is Neglect In a Nursing Home?
Neglect in nursing homes can take on many forms. In its most basic state, neglect is the unnecessary and deserved suffering of a nursing home patient or resident due to a caretaker's or healthcare facility's lack of care and negligence.
Neglect is an umbrella term that encompasses all of these issues, and therefore it is up to the caregiver or facility to be vigilant and aware of signs that a patient or resident is being neglected. Once identified, steps must be taken to ensure this type of mistreatment does not continue further.
What Actions are Nursing Home Neglect?
Nursing home abuse and neglect can come in many forms, ranging from physical, emotional, and financial exploitation. In addition to physical abuse such as striking, shaking or excessive use of restraints, neglectful action includes purposefully withholding cleaning, medical attention, and other necessary care.
Neglect often shows up in more subtle ways as well; it can be failing to motivate a person with dementia to do anything but watch TV all day, denying visits from family members, or not responding adequately when alarms sound due to a medical emergency. These types of abuses can cause harm both physically and mentally in seniors enrolled in nursing homes where they should be receiving compassionate care.
How Does Nursing Home Neglect Cause Harm?
Nursing home neglect can have serious implications on the health and well-being of our elderly. Unfortunately, too often, those in care facilities are not treated with the dignity they deserve, whether that is due to lack of attention, inadequate staffing levels or even intentional mistreatment.
As a result, elderly people experience a range of physical and emotional harms such as dehydration, weight loss, bedsores, and malnutrition. Not only does this create uncomfortable and sometimes painful physical challenges for residents, but it also has devastating psychological effects as residents become increasingly isolated with no meaningful human contact.
Sadly, some cases of nursing home neglect even result in fatalities from injury or infection. These debilitations make it vital for family members to be vigilant when entrusting their elders to a facility and for caregivers to do their utmost to provide an environment which protects residents from harm.
If your elderly loved one suffers harm because of nursing home neglect, turn to our team atBrown & Barron, LLC. Our Baltimore nursing home neglect attorneys stand ready to help you.
Call us at(410) 547-0202to discuss your case!