Four Types Of Nursing Home Abuse

If you have an elderly parent in a nursing home, it's important to always pay attention to any signs of nursing home abuse, which occurs more often than one might think. This doesn't just mean checking for bruises or other physical signs of abuse, since not all abuse is physical. Here are four types of abuse that is considered nursing home abuse:

1. Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse is when the caregiver is emotionally abusing your parent by mocking them, yelling at them, or degrading them. All of this can lead to depression in your parent's elderly age. You will notice this by signs of withdrawal and other psychological changes that weren't present before. Your parent may not tell you about this, because they either believe what the abuser says or they feel that they have no power. If you feel that emotional abuse may be playing a roll in your parent's life, you need to talk with a nursing home abuse lawyer. 
2. Financial Abuse: Most likely, you have some control over your parent's finances once they are in a nursing home, so you should recognize this pretty readily. Financial abuse is when the caregiver is taking money from your parent and using it for something other than your parent's care. Caregivers at a nursing home shouldn't even need money directly from your parent to help care for them since you are paying each month for their care on your own. 
3. Neglect: When your parent is in nursing care, they should, of course, be receiving care. By visiting regularly, you can tell when your parent isn't receiving the care that was agreed upon. You will notice this by a lack of hygiene in your parent, bedridden bruises, or a significant decrease in weight—which could mean that they are not being fed. 
4. Physical Abuse: Finally, the most obvious is physical abuse. This is obvious by signs of bruising that didn't come from a fall or even scratches and other physical aliments. If you believe that this is the result of nursing home abuse, you need to have these injuries examined by a doctor right away. Your parent's doctor will more easily be able to tell if these bruises are the result of abuse or falling.

When you know what types of abuse you could be dealing with, you know what to look out for and when to contact a nursing home abuse lawyer such as Garrison Law Firm.