Nursing home abuse and neglect often goes unreported for fear of retaliation. Many residents believe that nursing home staff will “make a resident pay” by delaying care or sabotaging meals if a resident or family member complains about poor care at a facility, concerns which negatively impact the physical and emotional health of residents in nursing home facilities.
The “They Make You Pay” project hopes that by raising awareness of the fear of staff retaliation in nursing homes and other LTC facilities will result in changes in policy, practice and enforcement actions. The project identifies various themes that cut across all care facilities related to staff retaliation including:
Fear of retaliation for reporting poor care and mistreatment often translates into delayed reporting or no reporting at all, leaving residents vulnerable to continued neglect and abuse.
Barriers to resident reporting allow instances of mistreatment to remain uninvestigated internally by nursing home or externally by state agencies.
Even when abuse or neglect are suspected or known, lack of reporting and investigation allow poor care and mistreatment to continue often at the hands of a perpetrator who continues to have access to residents.
Residents adopt a psychology of learned helplessness given the asymmetry of power. Residents are often totally dependent on their abusers for assistance with activities of daily living and feel powerless to stop abuse and neglect.
Solving Abuse and Neglect in Nursing Homes Starts with Empowerment
One useful takeaway for residents and family who fear retaliation in nursing homes is that “people are stronger together”. Since, abuse often boils down to a power dynamic, forming a resident council to address problems allows victims to report problems within a support network, which can reduce issues of retaliation.
Taking it a step further by forming a family council, where families of residents unite, can provide the resident council support to address unresolved grievances. As a group resident and family councils may prove more formidable when enlisting the help of various stakeholders such as LTC ombudsmen, providers, federal and state agencies, and care advocacy organizations to improve the care they receive.
Certainly if abuse and neglect is an issue it is important to hold the nursing home legally accountable, which can deter future mistreatment. If a family member is injured due to nursing home negligence or abuse a personal injury attorney can hold the nursing home accountable while seeking maximum compensation for injuries, pain and suffering, and other damages. A personal injury attorney can pursue a wrongful death claim in the event of a loved one’s death due to nearing home neglect and abuse. Contact Iowa nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer Marc Humphrey for immediate help today.
