Identifying and defining abuse and neglect
Abuse of the elderly can come in many forms. Whether it be in the home, in public, or in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, it is important to know what constitutes abuse of the elderly in order to spot it and put an end to it.
In 1987, Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act in an attempt to improve the rights of the elderly who reside in such facilities. This Act entitles all residents “…to receive quality care and live in an environment that improves or maintains the quality of their physical and mental health.” What this means is that residents of a nursing home are entitled to freedom from neglect, abuse, and misappropriation of funds, which are criminal acts. The individuals who commit these wrongs can be charged criminally for their actions, and the facilities themselves may be sued in a civil court for damages that arose as a result of operating the facility in which the abuse or neglect took place.
Neglect is defined as the failure to care for a person in a manner, which would avoid harm and pain, or the failure to react to a situation which may be harmful. This neglect may or may not be intentional, meaning that neglect can occur if someone is poorly trained and not giving the proper care, whether or not they meant any harm is irrelevant. Neglect includes incorrect body positioning, meaning the position of the patient leads to skin lesions or limb injuries. It also includes a lack of assistance in eating and drinking which could cause malnutrition and dehydration. Neglect also can mean a lack of toileting or changing of disposable briefs that could cause incontinence, indignity, and result in a patient lying in excrement. A lack of assistance in walking that leads ultimately to poor mobility is yet another kind of neglect. Some other types are lack of bathing, poor hand washing that leads to infection, lack of assistance with participating in activities of interest if this leads to isolation and withdrawal. Ignoring call bells or cries for help are also grounds for neglect. If any of these actions are happening to the degree that an injury occurs, there may be a case of neglect which should be reported.
Abuse is a different form of injury that can occur in nursing homes. Abuse means that intentional pain or harm is caused. This harm can include physical, mental, verbal, psychological, and sexual abuse, corporal punishment, unreasonable seclusion, and intimidation. Types of physical abuse could be hitting, pinching, shoving, force-feeding, scratching, slapping, spitting, or anything resembling these kinds of actions. Sexual abuse could be in the form of coercion into performing sexual acts, or inappropriate touching. Abuse could even be considered treating a resident roughly during daily routine care, or substandard care that causes either psychological or physical injuries.
Another category of abuse and neglect is the misappropriation of property and/or funds. This includes stealing or embezzling funds or property such as jewelry, or not handling the funds given to the nursing home for the care and treatment of the resident.
Most states have Adult Protective Services laws. Although these laws may differ from state to state, most revolve around the idea that there is a duty for a caregiver to act. What this means, is that the caregiver generally has a legal duty created by the law that they act in a way that benefits the resident. This duty is created by the contract a resident enters into with the facility and the caregiver regarding their long-term care. A caregiver who fails to act accordingly has breached this duty, which could result in legal action.
It is imperative to know what abuse and neglect are in order to identify it, and put an end to it. To find out more about details involving what may or may not constitute abuse or neglect in the nursing home, visit the National Center on Elder Abuse website at http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/.
Source: National Center on Elder Abuse, Administration on Aging http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/