Elder Law

Letter to Editor: Nursing Home Abuse Needs More Attention

By Levin & Perconti

Many posts to this nursing home blog involve reporting on the latest news of abuse and neglect at Chicago nursing homes as well as other facilities across the country. Our hope is that by sharing the stories of heartbreak, more individuals will pay closer attention to possible abuse at facilities near them. In the end, the goal is to have less seniors fall victim to lackluster care, neglect, and intentional abuse.

The same sentiments were shared in a recent letter to the editor published in the Lancaster EagleGazette. In it the writer explains her disappointment in treatment received by a loved one at a facility that she thought would provide the utmost care. Her grandmother entered the facility to rehab after two weeks in the hospital. At the time of the admission the woman was able to provide a lot of basic care for herself?fed herself, walked on her own, and spoke clearly. But day in and day out the care provided by nursing home staff sapped her will to fight her ailments.

The writer shares the victim?s own words about her care: ?When I put on my call light, no one ever comes, and I have to use the bathroom in my pants. [?] They throw me around like a rag doll.?

Eventually the woman?s buttocks began breaking down with bedsores and she had bruises all over her body. She left the nursing home and passed away at a skilled care facility within a month.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on December 02, 2010 (boomark / email).