emotional abuse

Over the past couple of years elder advocates have been paying a significant amount of attention to physical abuse and neglect at nursing homes in the San Diego area. It is important to remember that nursing home abuse can take many forms, including emotional and psychological abuse. According to a recent report from ABC 10 News, allegations of elder abuse at a Vista facility have resulted in an investigation by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The article indicates that an employee at the LifeHOUSE Vista Healthcare Center has been “accused of using her cellphone to take footage of a patient getting in the shower, and then posting it on the internet.”

Elder Abuse Investigation in Vista

The elder abuse investigation in Vista got underway after someone who viewed the online video “took a screen grab” of it and sent it to ABC 10 News. The video was taken on Snapchat. According to the report, “it shows a partially nude woman from the shoulders up,” and there is an employee “standing behind her laughing.”

A recent report from U.S. News & World Report emphasized that elder abuse is very common and that most of us do not realize just how frequently it occurs. Often times, nursing home abuse and neglect happens even when we might be aware of its prevalence. So, how do you best detect elder abuse? If you suspect that an older adult could be the victim of abuse or neglect, how do you report it?

Getting the Facts About Elder Abuse and Neglect

According to the report from U.S. News, it is often difficult for observers to discern the difference between an “innocent” bruise caused by something like a “bump into furniture” and a more dangerous bruise that could be a sign of nursing home abuse. It is more important now than ever to know the signs and symptoms of elder abuse given the growing senior population throughout the country. Experts predict that nursing home abuse and neglect affects anywhere from 5 to 30 percent of the elderly population, and a study published in JAMA indicated that at least one out of every ten seniors “falls prey to some kind of abuse that’s either physical, psychological, sexual, financial, or neglectful in nature.”

Articles Tagged with emotional abuse

Allegations of Emotional Elder Abuse at San Diego County Facility

Distinguishing Elder Abuse from Common Injuries