Nursing Home Abuse

Paper Summary:

This paper reports that 30 percent of nursing home facilities are cited for instances of abuse, and the majority of all instances are never even reported. The author points out that, to prevent this abuse in nursing homes, communities must enhance facility security, improve background checks of staff, establish systems to monitor rates, places, and times of death, and expand death investigations and autopsies. The paper states that many states have long-term care ombudsmen, who have the primary responsibility of advocating for residents' rights and quality care, educating consumers and providers, resolving residents' complaints, and providing information to the public about abuse, but much more must be done.

From the Paper:

"Laws are also changing to support the patients and their families. In Florida, for example, the Supreme Court drew a clear distinction between medical and nursing home care by ruling that plaintiffs in cases alleging nursing home abuse and neglect can sue for wrongful death and negligence without meeting the state's requirements for filing a medical malpractice claim. The court noted that nursing homes employ a variety of workers and that the failures the plaintiff alleged "may have been caused by the nursing staff, by the nursing home in not having adequate staff, by the negligence of aides or other workers, or by a combination of the above.""

More papers on Nursing Home Abuse:

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• Term Paper # 97302 : "Elder Abuse"

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