Nationally, there are many victims of nursing home abuse. Some are assault victims, while others are victims of physical or psychological abuse.
No matter what kind of abuse takes place, it’s not right. Your loved one should be cared for and protected in a nursing home. It’s a medical facility, and your loved one should not face harm there.
Unfortunately, abuse does happen. Abuse is what led one woman to speak to the US Senate Committee on Finance in Washington, D.C. The committee’s hearing was to discuss reports of neglect and abuse in nursing homes across the nation and to determine what could be done to stop the risk of abuse.
The woman spoke about her mother, who was a victim of a sexual assault and also had Alzheimer’s disease. Another woman testified during the hearing as well, stating that she was the daughter of a parent who suffered neglect while in a nursing home. That nursing home had the highest possible ranking despite being previously fined for verbal and physical abuse just a year before the woman’s death.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has said that it will be making updates to the online tools people use to research nursing home quality, and it also provided new guidance on how to quickly identify and prevent abuse or neglect cases. The CMS requires nursing homes caring for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to keep residents safe, and it intends to continue strengthening the requirements it puts in place. It’s hoped that this will improve outcomes for nursing home patients.
