What are some ways nursing home residents can be abused?

We trust nursing home staff to take good care of the residents in their facilities. Sadly, while unintentional neglect can harm patients, intentional nursing home abuse does occur in Albuquerque nursing homes and can be devastating. The following is an overview of some types of nursing home abuse.

Physical abuse

Nursing home employees are often overworked, and their job can be extremely stressful. Instead of properly handling these issues in a healthy way, these situations may cause a nursing home employee to be hot-tempered and impatient. They may intentionally intimidate residents or threaten residents in order to force residents to comply with their commands. Eventually, this abuse can turn physical, and nursing home employees may hit or kick residents in order to get them to comply with their commands.

Financial abuse

Physical abuse may be noticeable, but it is not the only way a nursing home employee can intentionally harm a resident. Residents can also be the victim of financial abuse at the hands of nursing home staff. An individual nursing home employee could ask your loved one for money or gifts. They may even ask for your loved one’s debit or credit card PIN and bank account information. Nursing home facilities may charge for services they never provided, including unnecessary medical procedures.

Sexual abuse

One of the most serious damages a nursing home resident may suffer at the hands of employees is sexual abuse. It can be hard to determine if your loved one was sexually abused, as they may avoid talking about the issue. In addition, signs of sexual abuse such as bruising of the resident’s genitals or breasts, pain and irritation may be difficult to observe. Oftentimes sexual abuse does not come to light until you notice blood on your loved one’s undergarments or your loved one contracts an STD.

What to do if you suspect abuse

If you suspect your loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse, you will want to take steps to protect them. In addition to transferring them to a different facility, you may want to determine if it is necessary to pursue legal action against the abuser or facility where the abuse occurred. This post does not offer legal advice, so those in New Mexico who suspect a loved one has been subjected to nursing home abuse will want to seek professional guidance so they can make informed decisions moving forward.