Butts

Mackenzie Butts
Ms. Sanchez
English IV
March 31, 2015
Elderly Abuse in Nursing Homes
When people think about elderly abuse and neglect they think of children and that
children are not the only ones that deal with neglect and abuse. The injuries that a nursing home
resident may suffer as a result of physical abuse can be very serious, because many older people
are fragile. By definition, Physical Abuse is intentionally using physical force that may result in
bodily injury or pain (B.M.P). Assisted Living, Adult Day services, Acute Care, Subacute Care,
Outpatient Care, Rehabilitation, Hospice Care Organizations. (HMOs) Health maintenance
Organizations (PPOs) Preferred Provider Organizations. Nursing Assistant (NA) or Certified
Nursing Assistant (CNA) The nursing assistant (NA) performs assigned tasks, such as taking
vital signs, and provided or assistants with routine personal care, such as bathing residents and
helping with toileting. Nursing Assistant must have 75 hours of training and in many states
training exceeds 100 hours. Elderly abuse in nursing homes should be prevented by government
regulations , nursing homes , and Staff in nursing care facilities. What nursing aids are suppose
to do, help residents with toileting, assisting residents to move around safely, keep living areas
clean and neat, Encouraging residence, help dress, make beds, give back rubs, and help with
mouth care. (ADLs) Activities of daily living are personal tasks. They include bathing, dressing,
caring for teeth, skin, nails, and hair, walking, transferring, toileting, and eating and drinking.

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Living Facilities are Home Health Care, Assisted Living, Adult Day services, Acute Care,
Subacute Care, Outpatient Care, Rehabilitation, Hospice Care (Hedman).

The government should be responsible for all of the regulations and elders rights.
(OBRA)- Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. 1987 has been updated several times, OBRA
requires that a Nurse Aide Training and Competency Evaluation Program (NATCEP) set
minimum standards. The government should be responsible for all of the regulations and elders
rights (Hedman).pg.21
Residence Rights- Relate how residents must be treated while living in a facility. The right to be
fully informed about rights and services: Residents must be told what services are available and
what the fee is for each service. Quality Of Life: Residents have the right to the best care
available. Dignity, Choice, and Independence are important parts of quality of life. The right of
independent Choices: Residents can make there own choices about their doctors, care,and
treatments. They can make personal decisions such as what to wear and how to spend their time.
They can join in community activities, both inside and outside the care facility (Hedman).pg.23
The right to security of possessions Residents personal possessions must be safe at all times
(Hedman).pg.24
Nursing homes should be responsible for keeping everything in order and following the
government regulations. Neglect- Is the failure to provide needed care that results in physical,
mental, emotional, harm to a person. Physical Abuse- Is any treatment intentional or
unintentional that causes harm to a persons body. Verbal- is the spoken or written words pictures

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or gestures that threaten embarrass or insult a person.Workplace Violence- Is abuse by staff

members, residents, or visitors (Hedman).pg.25
Substance abuse- is the use of legal or illegal drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol in a way that harms
oneself or to others (Hedman).pg.26
Active Neglect- is purposeful failure to provide needed care, resulting in harm to a person.
Passive Neglect - Is the unintentional failure to provide needed care resulting in physical mental
or emotional harm to a person. Negligence- means actions, or the failure to act or provide the
proper care for a resident resulting in unintended injury. Malpractice- Occurs when a person is
injured due to professional misconduct through negligence carelessness or lack of skill
(Hedman).pg.26
Involuntary seclusion- is the separation of a person from others against the persons will.
Workplace Violence- Is abuse by staff members, residents, or visitors (Hedman).pg.25
Staff in nursing care facilities Should be responsible, respectful follow the nursing
homes and government regulations and rules. Reporting abuse is not an option its the law. A NA
should keep reporting up the chain of command until action is taken (Hedman).pg.26
The resident should not be left alone. Suspicious and you should report: Abuse and neglect:
Fractures, dislocations, Burns of unusual shape and in unusual locations, cigarette burns.
Suspicious and you should report: Abuse and neglect: Scalding burns, scratches, or puncture
wounds scalp tenderness or patches of missing hair. Indicating abuse: yelling obscenities, Fear,
apprehension, fear of being alone. poor self control, Constant pain, threatening to hurt others
(Hedman).pg.26 signs that indicate Neglect: Pressure ulcers, body not clean,, body lice,

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unanswered call lights, soiled bedding or incontinence brief not being changed poorly- fitting
clothing, Unmet needs relating to hearing aids, eyeglasses etc. (Hedman).pg.27
Staff in nursing homes should not be held accountable There are no reason why the staff in a
facility should not be held accountable for any kind of abuse to a resident. Nursing homes have
an obligation to their residents to hire personnel who are properly qualified (Morgan).
have the requisite academic degrees for the position for which they are hired, and have no history
of abuse. (Morgan)
When a nursing home fails to perform background checks and residents are hurt as a result, the
nursing home may be found liable (Morgan)
For instance, if a resident is injured by another resident or a guest of another resident, the nursing
home can be found liable if they failed to provide adequate security to prevent such an incident.
nursing homes have an obligation to protect their residents, and therefore, can be found liable for
the actions of third parties within the residence. (Morgan)
The prevention of elderly abuse in any kind of nursing facilities by government regulations, the
nursing home or facility itself, and the staff in nursing home facilities. The prevention of elderly
abuse in any kind of nursing facilities by government regulations, the nursing home or facility
itself, and the staff in nursing home facilities. The government should be responsible for all of
the regulations and elders rights.
Nursing homes should be responsible for keeping everything in order and following the
government regulations.
Should be responsible, respectful follow the nursing homes and government regulations and
rules.

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When people think about elderly abuse and neglect they think of children and that children are
not the only ones that deal with neglect and abuse.
Frank Mercado, 77, was suffering from dementia and limited vision. He was a patient of the
University Nursing Home in New York until his death in December 2014. A nursing home aide is
facing criminal charges for Mercados death. Reportedly, a fight had broken out between the
nursing home aide and the elderly patient. According to the prosecuting attorney, the aide
punched the elderly man. After being assaulted, Mr. Mercado fell and was impaled on a piece of
metal sticking out from a broken table. He died from the injury. The aide, a 41-year-old woman,
had worked for University Nursing Home for 14 years . Yet, she apparently never learned to
control an elderly dementia patient without the use of physical violence. University Nursing
Home is a small facility, but part of a large consortium of rehabilitation (Law).

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