How to Report Neglect in Nursing Homes
Placing a loved one in a nursing home is often a difficult decision. You feel you are giving a parent or grandparent over to strangers to provide the daily care that you are unable to provide. You assume they will receive quality care. You hope they will be shown compassion. You want to believe they will be well-treated, but unfortunately, this is not always the case.
In 2001, CBS News reported that elder abuse and neglect was on the rise. More recent studies have shown that 44 percent of nursing home patients have suffered abuse at the hands of a staff worker. It is also believed that only 20 percent of all neglect and abuse is even reported. Neglect can be as simple as not bathing or feeding patients, withholding medication, allowing and/or not reporting falls, causing bedsores, and ignoring weight loss. In severe cases, the neglect can lead to a patient's death.
If you believe someone is being neglected or abused at the hands of a nursing home, there are immediate steps you can take to protect your loved one, as well as the other residents.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Reporting Nursing Home Neglect
-
1
If you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and report a crime.
-
2
Call the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA), at (800) 677-1116, which is monitored by the U.S. Department on Aging. They will ask for the patient's name, address, nursing home contact information, and details on the neglect allegations. They may also ask additional questions on the patient's medical condition.
-
-
3
Contact your state's Department of Health to file a complaint with the Licensing and Certification Division, which is required to investigate the allegations.
-
4
You may want to consider transferring your loved one to another facility to avoid further neglect.
-
5
You may also contact an attorney who specializes in elder care to pursue litigation against the nursing home and/or worker(s) that are involved in the neglect.
-
6
Stay involved with your loved one's care. Visit frequently. Get to know the staff and doctors, and make yourself an obvious and regular presence in the facility.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
The NCEA will ask for your contact information, but you are allowed to file a report anonymously.
Confronting the nursing home could result in retaliation against your loved one; this is another reason to consider moving him or her to another facility.
