Many families who are unable to house or give proper medical care to an aging parent will look for a place for their loved one to live that is safe and where they will receive the highest quality of attention and care. Unfortunately, not all nursing homes treat their residence with dignity and respect; elder abuse is very common and can be hard to identify if your loved one is unable to show distress or tell you about how they have been harmed or mistreated.
Abuse can come in many forms. In an earlier post, we discussed the warning signs of elder neglect and abuse. You can read about the precautions you can take to prevent improper treatment of your loved one here: http://bit.ly/29xRbLY
It’s very important to know what elder abuse looks like because it is widely underreported. Only 1 in 14 cases of elder abuse is brought to the attention of authorities. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), nearly half of individuals with dementia receive some form of abuse by others.
There are serious psychological, emotional and physical consequences abuse can have on elders. Those who sustain neglect and mistreatment are impacted in a number of ways, including and not limited to:
- a greater risk of dying sooner
- twice as likely to be hospitalized than other elders
- survivors of abuse suffer significantly higher levels of psychological distress than elders who have not sustained abuse.
Parvey & Cavenago defend the rights of neglected older adults who can not speak for themselves. We strongly support the NCEA and its fight to end elder abuse through creating awareness in the community. If you have suffered an injury or lost a loved one through nursing home neglect, please contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation today.
