Making the decision to admit a loved one into a nursing home is never easy. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration, including the worry that the loved one will not be taken care of properly. Residents of nursing homes are dependent upon their caretakers for the basic necessities of life, including food, housing, medicine, and other necessities of good health. Because many of the residents are elderly and frail, they are vulnerable to abuse by staff members.
Some residents fall victim to nursing home injuries due to neglect caused by inadequate staffing or poorly trained staff members. Others may be victims of intentional abuse, including sexual assault, for which the elderly and disabled are particularly vulnerable.
There are several reasons for this potential vulnerability. First, the resident may be unable to report the abuse because of a disability or problem with communicating, so the offender feels safe to commit the abuse. Second, because of the nature of the nursing home population - including the elderly, physically disabled, or mentally disabled - the residents are unlikely to be able to defend themselves. Finally, the position of the caregiver in the nursing home often requires close and personal contact with the resident, such as assistance with bathing, using the bathroom, and dressing the resident, making it much easier for an opportunistic abuser to access the victim without arousing suspicion.
The Role of Background Checks
Nursing homes can avoid some instances of sexual abuse and other abuse and neglect committed by staff members by doing background checks and adequately supervising employees. Currently, according to the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 20 percent of nursing homes employ at least five people who have a criminal record. Screening staff members is one way to ensure that the residents are not left to the mercy of individuals who have already committed a sex crime.
Inadequate staffing also is an issue for concern, as there may be inadequate supervision over the staff members in closest proximity to the residents. Nursing homes have a duty to keep patients safe, which includes a duty to screen employees and provide sufficient supervision over its staff.
The main issue with staffing involves money. Historically, many nursing home corporations have been more concerned with increasing the huge salaries of their executives instead of spending money to increase staffing. With Medicare and Medicaid slated to cut reimbursement to nursing homes by 11 percent in October 2011, homes may find themselves in a position where they have to cut staff or offer lower pay for positions, leading to less-experienced and less-qualified staff members. Sadly, many executives will cut care instead of reducing their own pay. This is expected to be the case both in Tennessee and nationally.
Families should therefore be prepared to be extra vigilant in visiting and checking on their loves ones in nursing homes.
