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Elder abuse in nursing home essay
Essay on elderly abuse in nursing homes
Elder abuse in nursing home essay
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Describe the case in detail In June 2016, the Adult Protective Service reported a case of elderly abuse to the Lafayette police after a family called them to report that their mother was a victim of abuse. Julie Steenhoek, a 53 years old, was accused of financial abuse to a woman with health problems. The victim was Lavinia Reno, a 79-year-old woman. The police found that Julie was living in the house of the victim after she has gained the victim’s trust.
Home Care Assistant/Aide Heath Care workers help patients that may be physically or mentally ill, injured or disabled. Home care workers can live with the patient, work on weekends or week days. Home Care Assistant are always up on their feet they have tom complete all the hard work the patient cannot do. Home Care Assistant may receive some irritation and disorientation from the patient.
Many people are supported in their homes by people who work along side the health and social care service such as social workers,nursers ,doctor and care givers or they may get support from their family members and friends. An elderly person may choose to stay in their own homes instead of a residential care home while seeking help and support from others,however this can lead to potential opportunities for abuse happening to the person who Is being looked after. When an individual is getting support at home by a carer, the individual being cared for is vulnerable and defenseless and therefor this makes them a target for abuse,another example is abuse by strangers,when an elderly person lives alone they are at risk of people calling at the door and then gaining access to their homes,they may steal items from them or mistreat them or cause intimidation. A person who is vulnerable and living alone are at risk of physical and sexual because there is no one there to stop this abuse from happening.
At Adult Protective Services majority of our work involves investigation of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. At Adult Protective Services our job is to protect the vulnerable elderly population, as well as the population that have disabilities. “Only APS is statutorily authorized and responsible for investigating elder and vulnerable adult abuse and taking steps to protect the victims, and it is generally only APS that helps the most frail and incapacitated older persons”(Quin, 2012, p.68). When abuse is suspected, a case worker will reach out to all parties involved, such as the alleged victim, alleged perpetrator, and all collaterals. Unlike many other professions, case worker are not required to have any written consent to speak with
One particularly horrifying event that occurred was in August 1970 when residents in a nursing home in Baltimore died from salmonella food poisoning. The unconcern for the seriousness of this incident shown by writers of the Washington Post demonstrated a need for federal regulations for the standard of care given by nursing homes. Thus, in 1971 President Nixon and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) established the Office of Nursing Home Affairs (ONHA) to oversee any programs involving nursing homes. The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program was one initiated by ONHA to “improve the quality of care in America’s nursing homes and to respond to complaints submitted… about abuse and neglect of nursing home residents” (Hunt & Nadell, 2007,
Prospective JD candidate Jane Black analyzes the issue of elder abuse in her article “The Not-So-Golden Years: Power Of Attorney, Elder Abuse, And Why Our Laws Are Failing A Vulnerable Population” (particularly the financial aspect) and creates a solution to the glaring issues that plague the system meant to protect the elderly. Black uses three main points to produce an accurate look at the issues at hand. First, elderly people are particularly vulnerable to abuse making them easy targets. Second, the laws that are meant to keep the elderly safe are weak, thus enabling more abuse. Third, by creating stronger laws and programs, elder abuse can be curbed very easily.
People nearing the end of their lives deserve respect shown to them through the extra support they require as they age. Nursing homes and medical professionals offer to provide this support, but sometimes both the organizations and individuals can act poorly to neglect their patients. Medical professionals cannot ethically choose to grant high-quality care care to only some patients, neglecting others on the basis of age. Any bias in medical treatment can actually produce life-or-death results. According to a study mentioned by Washington prosecutor Page Ulrey, “victims of abuse, neglect and exploitation are three times more likely to die a premature death” and, from her own experience, she finds that “victims are so demoralized and devastated by financial exploitation that they often deteriorate, and many victims are dead before [they] get to trial” (Pogzar 351).
The United States government is doing a surprisingly little amount for the million of elderly who are being abused everyday. An affective abuse policy increasing elderly protection services is immensely needed. The public should also be informed about elderly abuse, and the individuals who commit the crime of abusing the elderly should have stricter punishments. People in society can help towards pushing for a more goal driven elder justice policy. In the article, “The Elderly Must Be Protected From Abuse,” author Robert B. Blancato explains seven goals which should be addressed towards elderly justice.
Identifying people at risk of abuse and neglect It is important when working in a health and social care environment that service providers are able to recognise or identify people who are at risk of suffering from abuse or neglect. Some abusers are aware the care worker’s role. This role is to make sure that they are able to report concerns and will make user that they don’t abuse or neglect a service user in front of others. In addition to this, it is important that a service provider is able to spot of there has been any changes in behaviour in a certain service user who they are giving help to.
Having knowledge of social policies is essential to address elder abuse because it is crucial to have valued information to provide to the service user or how to report any type of abuse or neglect with seniors. In Canada, elder abuse legislation is a responsibility of federal, provincial and municipal (Podnieks, 2008). Likewise, the federal Criminal Code (1985) defines the standards for criminal justice through the country. Hence, this code has strengths and limitation regarding elder abuse.
Hillier and Barrow (2015), associate problems of caregiving with the responsibility itself, the caregivers personal health, role strains, strained family relationships, ect. With all of this strain on an informal caregiver it seems most beneficial to the caregiver and the elderly individual to consider admittance in to an assisted living facility. Once a basis has been established as to why an elderly person is admitted in to an assisted living facility, further insight shall be established to denote what is considered elder abuse. In this movie, Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities, several
African American Elder Abuse African American elder abuse is limited on its information when it comes to data and research. I found it very interesting and wanted to find out more about African American elder abuse. Who would think a person would want to abuse an elderly person who is already lacking in abilities and have impairments. As a African American man I have found it very common for individuals of my same race, African Americans to exploit their elders when it comes to finances and neglect abuse of the elders. I wanted to see could I find any correlation of a relationship that connects the African American race and elder abuse in some type of way.
Since nursing homes tend to provide care to a vulnerable population they can be taken advantage of, overlooked or mistreated by staff and with residents potentially underreporting these incidents due to fear of retaliation by staff identifies this as significant ethical issues among nursing homes. The use of restraints that restricts a resident, whether physical or chemical applies to the ethical considerations within a nursing home as it not only impacts the resident, it can affect staff members and other resident’s safety. There is always the conflict between providing the resident with a fair amount of decisions regarding their activities of daily living, special accommodations, and independence. However, there is also the reflective issue of whether these freedoms impact the safety and the ability to comply with the institution's policy and how they are handled to deliver ethically appropriate customer service to those
For example, one dominant group that has more power is the Minnesota Department of Health. Last year alone, the Minnesota Department of Health received 25,226 allegations of neglect, physical abuse, unexplained serious injuries, and thefts in state-licensed homes for the elderly. Ninety-seven percent were never investigated. That includes 2,025 allegations of physical or emotional abuse by staff, 4,100 reports of altercations between residents and 300 reported drug thefts (Serres, 2017). Since most cases of abuse and neglect leave elderly
Elder abuse can be referred to as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. Elderly people often get abuse by people who should be their protector and carer, in most circumstances many elderly adults are abused in their own homes, in relatives’ homes, and even in facilities responsible for their care. If you suspect that an elderly person is at risk from a neglectful or overwhelmed caregiver, or being preyed upon financially, it’s important to speak up. Learning about the warning signs of elder abuse, what the risk factors are, and how you can prevent and report the problem it’s very vital in protecting the elderly from abuse, some of these abuse are; • Not caring for someone property (neglect) • Pressuring