Category: Nursing Home Abuse

It can be difficult when your loved one moves into a nursing home. While it can be an emotional time, you’re giving your loved one a home where they will be cared for and their quality of life will improve. You may worry about nursing home abuse, like staff mistreating or stealing from your loved one. But there’s another common form of abuse that you may not expect to look for: Resident-on-resident abuse.

If your loved one is being abused in a nursing home, you can seek legal representation for them. A Kentucky nursing home abuse attorney from Thomas Law Offices can help you fight for the rights of your loved one. Nursing home abuse is a terrible thing and your loved one deserves to live a peaceful and happy life.

Over the holiday weekend, the Trump administration scaled back the guidelines for issuing fines against nursing homes that violate safety and health regulations which aim to keep residents safe. This scaling back is part of a broader shift to “relax” various Medicare penalty protocols that was requested by the American Health Care Association, the main organization that speaks on behalf of the nursing home industry.

The organization argued that health and safety inspectors were too focused on finding wrongdoings at nursing homes instead of assisting the facilities themselves, but the violations and fines are a crucial part of ensuring that wrongdoings don’t happen at all—wrongdoings like neglect, abuse, and mistreatment that can endanger the lives of every resident.

A disheartening news story made headlines in the New York Times yesterday after 8 nursing home residents were found dead in a Hollywood, Florida facility that was overwhelmingly hot without a working air conditioning system. The nursing home’s AC system was knocked out during Hurricane Irma and had not been fixed yet. The facility did have working power otherwise, however, which has raised several questions among city officials and the community.

The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills started sending residents to the nearest hospital early in the morning when residents began reaching critical health conditions. After the hospital received 3 residents from the same home, the staff members decided to investigate the nursing home personally and found conditions that were unsettling. The facility was reported as being almost unbearably hot. They went room to room, checking on residents—and found three dead in their beds.

Placing a loved one in a nursing home facility is an emotional and overwhelming decision.  The idea of entrusting the care of someone you love to complete strangers is uncomfortable and unsettling.  Choosing the facility that is the right fit for your family involves a fair amount of preparation and research.  But finding a facility that meets your loved one’s care needs will make the transition more comfortable for everyone.  Here are a few questions to ask when evaluating a potential nursing home for your loved one:

Since 2011, the number of verified cases of elder abuse in the state of Florida has increased by 74 percent, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families. In 2015, the statewide total was 2,525. According to a study by the University of Kentucky, nearly 90 percent of cases of elder abuse and neglect occur at home. Additionally, the study reported that one third of the abusers were the children of their victim, and that more than half of the abusers were females in their 40’s.