Nursing Home Abuse

For many Stratford families, the time comes when they are no longer able to take care of an elderly loved one on their own. This family member may need medical or emotional help that they cannot provide as at-home caregivers. If your family finds yourselves in this situation, there are some options available. You can hire at-home help to provide further medical help while keeping your elderly loved one in their home or your home. In more serious cases, your loved one may have to go live in an assisted living home or a nursing home.

Determining the best option for an aging loved one is up to you and your family. However, no matter what option you choose, you should consider protecting your loved one from elder abuse or neglect. While this is a difficult subject to think about, it is something you should consider early on in an effort to prevent such an issue. If you find that your loved one is the victim of this type of abuse, there are many ways that you can get help. Learn more on this page.

Abuse Types and Prevention

Unfortunately, elder abuse can occur in Stratford. This might include physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, neglect, and additional issues such as medical malpractice. Of course nursing homes seek to prevent these issues, but they can slide through the cracks.

Here are a few tips to avoid nursing home abuse and neglect and keep your aging loved one safe:

• Do your research beforehand. Before hiring a home health aide or moving your loved one to an elderly facility, make sure to thoroughly vet them. You should go through an interview process, read reviews about the aide or facility, and look into previous complaints. You can weed out inappropriate options by taking some time before making your final decision to really learn about the aide or facility that you are considering.
• Make sure there is a care plan in place. A care plan is one of the most important elements of treatment for a person in a nursing home, assisted living, or someone working with a healthcare professional at home. A care plan will outline your loved one’s medical history, current medication, current illnesses and treatment, and how they should be cared for on a day-to-day basis. Make sure to push for a detailed care plan for your loved one and check in to make sure that this care plan is being followed.
• Communicate with the healthcare professionals. Sometimes elder abuse can occur because people think that the elderly are not cared for. They might think that they don’t have much family left or that their family is not involved in their lives. Just because you need help caring for your loved one certainly does not mean that you will be absent in this process. Make this clear to those working with your loved one. Consistently communicate with them and ask questions about your loved one’s status. Make it clear that you will not turn a blind eye to any issues. If those looking after your loved one understand that you will be highly involved in their lives and treatment, they are less likely to cause issues.
• Communicate with your loved one. Sometimes elderly people keep abuse or neglect to themselves because they are afraid to speak up or afraid of retaliation. Make it clear that your loved one can tell you anything and that you will help if they are in a bad situation. If they are comfortable talking to you, they are more likely to tell you about issues in a nursing facility.

Getting Help

Even if you do everything right, you might still find yourself in a situation where elderly neglect and abuse have occurred. If your family finds yourself in this situation, contact a Stratford nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer as soon as possible.