Articles Tagged with neglect

doctorAre California’s assisted-living facilities getting any safer for elderly residents? You might remember a series of reports in U-T San Diego about the prevalence of “deadly neglect” in assisted living facilities throughout our state. While efforts have been underway over the last couple of years to change the culture in California’s assisted-living facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), it is difficult to know whether or not we can trust that a facility will provide proper care for our elderly loved ones. Nursing home abuse and neglect remains a serious issue in Southern California and, indeed, across the country.

According to a recent news release from the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), a facility in Anaheim was cited for serious violations in connection with elder abuse and neglect. What else do you need to know about the recent citations and what they say about the safety of assisted-living facilities in California?

Report Suggests Patterns of Elder Abuse and Neglect

file000441681066A 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.”

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