If you’ve ever read a nursing home brochure, you’ve likely seen some form of the following: compassion, dedicated staff members, safety, 24-7 care… But in reality, the truth can be far from that.
And that isn’t to say that there aren’t some truly superb nursing homes out there, but it’s the reality of things; of what to expect.
Photo by Caleb Oquendo
If you hear anything about nursing homes on the news or have read anything in the paper, it’s usually horror stories. And once something bad happens, the victim and the victim’s family are often left stunned, wondering how this could’ve happened; there were no signs… not obvious ones, anyway.
The reality is that these facilities know how to hide neglect. And that’s not even the most frustrating thing, though. The system that’s supposed to prevent neglect and abuse from happening sometimes doesn’t do anything to protect us or to bring justice. Sometimes inspections and regulations seem like nothing more than formalities and penalties.
If that weren’t sad, it’d be laughable.
How is this possible? How does neglect keep happening over and over, and why is it that almost nothing ever changes?
Oversight That Falls Short
On paper, nursing homes are one of the most heavily regulated industries out there.
There are state and federal rules stating exactly how the residents need to be cared for, and, on top of that, inspectors are supposed to show up and check if those standards are met.
If only that were how it went in real life. There aren’t enough inspectors to begin with, so it’s impossible to keep an eye on all the facilities. Inspections don’t happen nearly as often as they should, and sometimes, facilities even know when the visit is coming, which defeats its purpose.
And even when inspectors catch the problems, the consequences are usually too weak to make anyone bother with making changes. Sure, they’ll write a report and note that the violations happened, but that’s about it. Little will change within the facility itself, if anything changes at all. They might get a penalty, but it will rarely be high enough to make them rethink the way they run things.
In short, the gap between how it should be and how it is is huge.
People end up with untreated wounds and infections that could have easily been prevented. If your loved one ever goes through something like this, contact a bed sore stage 4 neglect attorney as soon as possible to see what can be done about it.
Why Families Rarely Speak Up
It makes sense to ask why more families don’t come forward when they see something bad is happening, but speaking up isn’t that simple.
Here are a couple of reasons why so many people choose to stay silent:
Fear of Making Things Worse
Fear is one of the biggest reasons why people hold back.
They worry that complaining will only make the situation worse. And it doesn’t have to be that the resident will be neglected or abused, but they might receive colder treatment, or the staff might not respond as fast.
The risk feels too high for many families, especially when their loved one depends on the very people they’d be reporting.
Not Recognizing Neglect
Neglect doesn’t have to look dramatic.
Actually, by the time it does, a lot of terrible things have already happened. Neglect can start with the small stuff, like slowly losing weight or a tiny sore on the skin. It’s easy to miss things like that and, even if families notice them, they might dismiss them as nothing more than aging.
Complicated Reporting Systems
Even when a family is ready to do something, it’s not simple.
The process of filing a complaint is intentionally made to be complicated. You should fill out never-ending forms or figure out which agency is responsible for handling reports. Then, once that’s all done, you need to wait for a response.
If you’re already stressed about your loved one, the red tape alone can make you stop in your tracks.
Stress Caused by Money Issues
Families are already dealing with guilt and worry over having someone in a nursing home, so when you add the stress of filing a complaint and going through a legal process on top of that, it can be too much.
Then there’s also all the additional expenditure of moving your loved one to another facility, which can be pretty high. And it’s not like you’re complaining, or that you don’t want to do it. But it CAN be expensive, which can cause a strain on your entire family.
It’s a lot of pressure that you don’t see as a bystander. On the outside, everything might look fine. But all the stress and financial issues – it’s more than enough to make people refrain from raising concerns and filing complaints.
Conclusion
When you glance at a nursing home, it all looks pristine, up to standard. But the longer you observe, the more you start noticing things. Things that might lead to neglect and abuse, mistreatment, or any other thing that may end up causing harm.
There are rules they have to follow, and if they don’t, they get slapped with fines. But then you scratch the surface and see the chaos that actually happens. Weak oversight, low fines, and a bunch of red tape you need to get through if you decide to file a complaint (which is an issue on its own).
Does this mean that this story will end in despair? Not if families decide to push back and if communities demand that those in charge are held responsible.
Nothing happens if nobody speaks up, though.
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