Neglect in Nursing Homes 1

The Neglect of Nursing Home Residents

Katelynn Green

Delta Highschool CWU

Mr. Blacketer

1/5/2003
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The Neglect of Nursing Home Residents

Around 95% of residents in nursing homes have experienced or witnessed neglect. This is

almost all nursing home residents which means that this is a very frequent problem. Neglect can

lead to things like, loss of mobility, bad hygiene, psychological problems, lack of good nutrition,

frequent injuries, poor and unclean living conditions, etc. Nursing home neglect is so important

to talk about since it happens so often and has such a negative impact on residents. Neglect

causes the residents to suffer and sometimes residents even die from neglect. It is important to

discuss nursing home neglect to make people aware of it. By letting families, the people in

charge of the nursing home, and the authorities aware of nursing home neglect it can be

prevented. It is also important to discuss things from the staff’s perspective to get a better

understanding of how to identify neglect. Lastly, will be the discussion of how covid-19 effected

nursing home neglect.

What Can Families Do?

What exactly can families do to help prevent their loved ones from experiencing neglect

while in a nursing home? One thing that families can do is carefully select a nursing home. This

would mean visiting multiple nursing homes and talking to residents, seeing how the staff treats

residents, and making sure that the nursing home is safe and a good fit for the needs of your

loved one. Another thing that families can do is frequently communicating with loved ones. This

could be through a phone call or a face-to-face visit. Also, checking for signs of neglect while

visiting your loved ones can prevent neglect. For instance, if you go to visit your loved one and

notice that they are losing weight or maybe seem dehydrated, you should take this seriously and

inform people who can help resolve the issue. This maybe people in charge at the nursing home

or this might be the authorities. Lastly, you can believe your loved ones if they tell you that they
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are being neglected in any form. All of these are things that can be done by the families of

nursing home residents in order to prevent their loved ones from experiencing neglect.

What Can The People In Charge Do?

What can the people who oversee the nursing homes do to prevent nursing home neglect?

The first priority of the person in charge after they have been informed of the neglect is to make

sure that they take the resident out of the dangerous situation. There second priority is to report

the situation in order for it to not happen again. One way that the facility can report neglect is by

contacting the departments hotline. This is so that they can open up an investigation to prevent

further neglect of residents in the nursing home. Law enforcement will also be used as needed in

the case of nursing home neglect. According to (Assisted Living Facility Guidebook Partners in

Protection 2018), “The prioritization that follows is just a reminder of what the facility must do

and the order in which it should be done. (Reporting and investigation may be undertaken

simultaneously.) Remember to protect, and investigate and report.” This means that the nursing

home facilities job is to protect the residents, report the neglect, and investigate the neglect. This

is what the nursing home facilities can do to prevent nursing home neglect.

What Can Law Enforcement Do?

What can law enforcement do to help prevent nursing home neglect? In the case that law

enforcement is contacted, there are a few things that they can help with. One thing that law

enforcement can help with in the case of residents being neglected is watch over the facility to

help ensure that things are being properly taken care of. According to (Nursing homes: More can

be done to protect residents from abuse 2002), “Concerns with inadequate care involving

malnutrition, dehydration, and other forms of neglect have contributed to mounting scrutiny from

state and federal authorities.” This means that if there is suspicion that a nursing home is being
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neglectful to their residents then it is the duty of law enforcement to investigate the situation.

However, in the case of abuse law enforcement has the power to arrest staff that harmed any of

the nursing home residents. The (Nursing homes: More can be done to protect residents from

abuse 2002), also says, “Accordingly, the ability to both apprehend those who have abused

nursing home residents and prevent further abuse has generated considerable interest.” This

means that law enforcement has the right to arrest any person that abused a nursing home

resident. All of this shows what law enforcement can do to prevent nursing home neglect.

Why Does Nursing Home Neglect Happen?

What are the main reasons that nursing home neglect occurs? One of the main reasons for

nursing home neglect is understaffing. When a nursing home is understaffed, each staff member

must care for more patients. This leads to staff having less time to care for and watch over each

patient. When patients aren’t being watched over properly, some may take falls, develop bed

sores, develop psychological problems, infections, loss of mobility, dehydration, and

malnourishment. Another reason for neglect taking place in nursing homes is burnout. When

staff members become burnt-out, they often become neglectful towards the residents. Also,

negligent hiring can cause neglect to take place in a nursing home. Meaning that the employer

didn’t do their research about the person before hiring them or they decided to put them in the

job position even though there were concerns that they could be neglectful. Lastly, nursing home

neglect can be caused by lack of proper training. Lack of proper training can cause nursing home

neglect because when the staff members aren’t properly trained, they cannot properly care for the

residents. All these things explain what causes neglect within nursing homes.
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How Did Covid-19 Affect Nursing Home Neglect?

How were nursing homes affected by the covid-19 pandemic? As previously discussed in,

“Why Does Nursing Home Neglect Happen?” understaffing is a big cause of nursing home

neglect. During the Covid-19 pandemic many workplaces were understaffed including nursing

homes. The nursing homes were extremely understaffed because of the staff getting sick.

According to, (US: Concerns of neglect in nursing homes 2022), “Staff, administrators, and

independent experts told Human Rights Watch that during the pandemic, shortages became

particularly acute, undermining some nursing homes’ ability to provide quality care.” This

basically means that there was extreme understaffing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Another

thing that the Covid-19 pandemic also affected was the visitation of family members. Since

families weren’t allowed to visit nursing home residents during the pandemic and assist with

their care for a while, concern was raised that residents may be suffering from neglect. According

to, (US: Concerns of neglect in nursing homes 2022), “One woman, who had visited her mother,

who was in her 70s and had dementia, in a nursing home daily to support her with eating and

bathing before the pandemic, said that when she was no longer allowed to visit, her mother

appeared more lethargic and less talkative during video calls. After staff could not wake her

mother during a call in the fall, the woman insisted that they take her to the emergency room.

There, she said, a doctor told her that her mother had lost a significant amount of weight since

the start of the pandemic and had a large infected bedsore. She died soon after. According to her

death certificate, seen by Human Rights Watch, the cause of death was sepsis from a staph

infection, and she was dehydrated and had a bedsore at the time of her death.” This shows how

the Covid-19 pandemic increased neglect since families of residents were not able to visit
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because of Covid restrictions. These things show how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected

nursing home neglect.

Conclusion of The Neglect of Nursing Home Residents

In conclusion, this is an important discussion because by letting families, the people in

charge of the nursing home, and the authorities aware of nursing home neglect it can be

prevented. It is also important to understand what causes nursing home neglect and how it was

affected during the Covid-19 pandemic for the purpose of preventing it from happening. Overall,

it is very important to make people aware of nursing home neglect so that everyone can work

together to help prevent it.

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References

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