5 Examples of Neglect in Nursing Homes
The primary purpose of sharing these incidents with you is to raise awareness about elderly neglect and abuse in nursing homes. Nursing homes are great, they provide excellent facilities for elderly people with physical and/or mental disabilities. But like everything else in life, there’s a dark side to them that you need to be aware of. Below, I share with you a few examples of neglect in nursing homes.
Here are the 5 examples of neglect in nursing homes
1. Neglect of a 94-year-old man in Twin Cities nursing home
A 2017 report by the WCCO – CBS Minnesota shows how a 94-year-old man with Dementia was deprived of basic needs such as food and water in a nursing home facility. The victim in this case is a world war two veteran.
At the time of this reporting, he was cared for by Wendy Rudek, his daughter. Wendy confirmed that her father is legally blind.
Due to a gradual decline in her father’s health, Wendy installed a hidden camera in his room. She was suspecting neglect by the nursing home staff. Turned out, she was right.
In the hidden video footage, the woman caring for Wendy’s father is seen consuming the food that was meant for the patient.
2. Elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease found with bruises and broken bones
A 2018 report by Denver7 confirmed that an elderly woman with Dementia suffered life-threatening wounds to several parts of her body. She was allegedly physically abused by a caregiver who worked at the Nevada-based memory care facility.
Carolyn O’Brien had been struggling with memory loss for the past ten years, and she was admitted to the assisted care facility as a result.
She had been staying in the care facility for about 20 days before she was allegedly abused by a person working in the care facility. The suspect was a woman in her late twenties.
3. Elderly woman was repeatedly beaten by a caregiver in her home in Houston
In this incident, a 59 years old woman, an abusive caregiver was caught hitting the care recipient in the head for feeding human food to her dog.
This 2018 report by KPRC 2 Click2Houston confirms that a 59-year-old female caregiver hit a 94-year-old woman in her head while she was resting her home.
In the hidden footage, the caregiver can be seen hitting and verbally abusing the elderly woman as she tries to leave the living room.
Although this incident took place in the care recipient’s home, and not the nursing home, it shows that elderly abuse by caregivers does occur and something must be done to put a halt to it.
4. Elderly woman physically abused by an assisted-living facility aide
In a 2021 report by 11Alive, an aide working at an assisted-living facility can be seen pushing, shoving, and hitting an older woman with Dementia. In the video, you can clearly see the senior woman is trying hard to defend herself.
The aide finally overpowers her and drags the older woman to the floor. You can see other residents and staff members passing by but no one comes to her help. The woman who is recording the video can be seen chatting to herself nonchalantly.
This shocking incident did not take place too long ago. Taking care of a person with Dementia is not easy, and it can be frustrating at times, but the behavior exhibited by the aide is absolutely condemnable.
Not much is known as to where this incident took place.
5. Elderly man physically, and racially abused in Michigan-based nursing home
The next example of neglect in nursing homes was reported by Daily Mail. Here you will see how a nursing home nurse mishandles Hussein Younes, an elderly man in his 90s. She is seen picking the man up from the bed in a reckless manner.
She is also verbally abusing the man while simultaneously talking to a visitor. The man is not capable of having a conversation with her. I can assume he struggled to report the abuse to his family members.
Family members of Hussein have sued the nursing home facility. They believe the abuse inflicted on their loved ones was partly racially motivated.
Summary
Compassion is one of the foremost qualities a caregiver must have. Without it, a caregiver, or a nurse will toil to remain peaceful in difficult situations in the nursing home. No matter what the situation is, a caregiver or a person working in a nursing home should never lose their cool.
Elder abuse is a crime. If you happen to witness elderly abuse in your home or neighborhood, immediately contact the local authorities.
