Ask Your Loved One to be Honest About Nursing Home Abuse

Whether your elderly parent or loved one recently moved into a nursing home or lived there for some time, you must check in on their well-being. Aging can be difficult physically and emotionally, and far too often it gets even more painful when elderly individuals come face to face with abuse or neglect. Many elderly individuals admit they need help in taking care of themselves and their medical and daily needs by moving into a nursing home. But they may still be fearful or feel shameful about disclosing their abuse. Fortunately, there are a couple different ways you can encourage honesty. Being honest about nursing home abuse is the key to stopping it!

Remind Them of the Importance of Thorough Care in the Nursing Home

When you catch up with an elderly parent, they might be more interested in chatting about grandchildren instead of letting you know that no one has been helping them take their medicine.

You should explain the danger of allowing even slightly neglectful behavior slide. Because missing out on medications once or twice might not do any harm. But if a caregiver working at the home ignores the resident completely, then this might be a death sentence for your loved one. Let your aging loved ones know that long-term neglect and physical and emotional abuse can all negatively impact their health. And urge them to give you a call if someone doesn’t administer their meds, bring them food or drink or help them get to the bathroom or shower.

Get Outside Help When You See Signs of Nursing Home Abuse

You might get the sense that an individual living in nursing homes that you hold close to your heart, denies indicators of abuse. Perhaps, you notice bruises on their arms on several occasions. They attribute the marks to falling or their own clumsiness. But you know very well that if walking is difficult to do, they shouldn’t be unattended by staff. The nursing home staff should be evaluating fall risk assessments often!

Nursing home abuse is a real issue. So, if you are running into a dead-end when you confront your loved one, then it’s worth asking for help from someone else. You can ask their close friends to have a conversation with them about abuse, request to have their doctor look for signs of abuse, or consult a legal professional on the matter.