Even though many of us may want to care for our elderly parents, uncles, aunts and other family members, our lives just don’t allow us time to. So, we end up relying on medical/retirement facilities to take good care of them in our absence. The other alternative that we have is at-home medical care through a licensed caregiver, which is sometimes preferred instead of a huge nursing home. When we do decide that it is time to take these types of life altering steps for the whole and complete care of our loved ones, most folks feel that their relatives are being left in good hands. But, sad to say, there are many cases of elder neglect around the country each year.
According to the APA (American Psychological Association) there are about 4 million of our older Americans that are subject to some kind of neglect annually. This is not just in nursing homes mind you, but also in private households where caregivers are the ones who are supposed to helpfully assist your older relatives and friends who aren’t able to do it for themselves. Why does this happen so much? Mainly because us every day working folks are so caught up in our careers that we just put our loved ones in the hands of a stranger, shoot that person some money every week, then only personally check on the elderly person enough to say that they are ‘doing okay’ to folks who ask about their condition. Statistics and recent stories of elder neglect prove that this is not enough, and that we all should take a closer look at what these personal caregivers and nursing homes are really doing for our older friends and family members on an everyday basis.
A man named Angel Pabon just recently attended an arraignment hearing with his dad, only his father was in the courtroom in the form of his ashes. Migel Pabon was a double amputee at Blossom North Nursing Home in Rochester, NY. His death was blamed on the neglect of five nurses who were supposed to be treating him for diabetes, glaucoma, and blood pressure. The nurses themselves plead not guilty, and the owners of the facility released a statement to the family and the public stating that “Resident safety is and will continue to be our primary focus…” They must not be focusing too hard, because the same company that owns Blossom North owns Blossom South, which according to reports was recently shut down for violations.
Maybe we could take a closer look at our relatives if more facilities would allow video cameras. Similar to all proposals like this, we have some folks who say that it is an invasion of privacy and others who feel that with the increased number of cases (like the one above) in the recent years it is definitely time to consider it. The creators of a website called ElderAbuseExposed.com hope that the California Legislature will accepted their proposal to introduce a nursing home video camera bill. Until then, it’s up to us to protect our loved ones, and sometimes that requires legal representation. The very experienced Nursing Home Litigation Attorneys at Makarem and Associates are dedicated to helping those who feel that their elderly relatives and friends have been neglected or abused in any way, shape or form. They can be contacted directly at 310.312.0299 or you can easily email them at [email protected].
