The United States Senate released a report early this month laying out information gathered by a program focused on monitoring neglect in nursing homes across the country.

Senate Neglect in Nursing Homes Report

Approximately 1.3 million elderly Americans live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Around 10 percent of adults over the age of 60 in the U.S. have been subject to some form of elder abuse or neglect, often at the hands of their caretakers. According to the recent report released by the Senate, almost 3 percent of nursing homes and assisted living facilities have committed abuses against their residents, including passive neglect or outright mistreatment.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., who released the report, stated, “When a family makes the hard decision to seek nursing home services for a loved one, they deserve to know if a facility under consideration suffers from systemic shortcomings.”

Types of Nursing Home Neglect

Neglect in nursing homes may take many forms. In one case from Illinois, a resident who complained to nursing staff about his medical symptoms and was ignored called 911 himself. However, his condition had progressed far enough that he died shortly after reaching the hospital. At another facility in Florida, staff allegedly neglected to clean medical devices in between using them with different patients, putting residents at risk for infection and disease.

According to the Senate report, nearly 400 nursing homes across the United States have a persistent record of poor care. Most cases of nursing home abuse go unreported by residents or their families, leaving millions of vulnerable and elderly adults at risk of abuse. Types of poor care, neglect, and abuse may include:

• Failure to provide shelter, food, protection, or care
• Physical abuse or threats of physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional or verbal abuse
• Abandonment, confinement, or isolation
• Financial exploitation

Symptoms of abuse or neglect in nursing homes may include:

• Bed sores or pressure sores
• Bruises, burns, or abrasions
• Broken bones
• Unexplained injuries or falls
• Poor hygiene
• Chronic infections
• Dehydration
• Anxiety or depression
• Unexplained weight loss
• Strained relationships with caretakers
• Unexplained payments from residents’ bank accounts

In addition to the actual abuse, trauma, and injuries suffered by nursing home residents, victims of neglect and abuse are 300 percent more likely to die than elders who have not been abused. While most cases of elder abuse are not reported, family members who do want to report these abuses have a variety of ways to do so, including calling hotlines, contacting the authorities, or filing lawsuits against the facilities and caretakers at fault.

If your loved one lives in a nursing home or long term care facility and has shown signs and symptoms of possible abuse, there may be help available to you. Consulting a nursing home abuse lawyer may allow you to pursue accountability and compensation for neglect and abuse.