In 2013, congress released the official findings of a study that focused on cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Reports included instances of minor resident to resident violence (RRV) as well as claims of sexual abuse and injuries caused by nursing home staffers and aids. The most common reported issues involved neglect and untreated bedsores, malnutrition, dehydration, preventable accidents and inadequate sanitation and hygiene, according to the congressional report.
The report was prepared by the minority (Democratic and Independent) staff of the Special Investigations Division of the House Government Reform Committee. Below are the alarming statistics indicated by the report concerning nursing homes across the U.S.:
- Approximately 91% of nursing homes lack adequate staffing to properly care for all patients consistent with Department of Health recommended standards.
- 4.55 hours – the recommended minimum hours of direct, individual care recommended per nursing home resident per day.
- 3.7 hours – the actual average hours of direct, individual care for each nursing home resident, per day. Note: nearly 50% of all nursing home residents suffer daily with some form of untreated pain.
- Between 1 and 2 million US nursing home residents, age 65 or older, have experienced injury, exploitation, negligence, or other mistreatment in a long-term care facility.
- An estimate, citing variance attributed to underreporting of incidents, claims that 2% – 10% of nursing home residents experience some form of abuse.
- One in three of all nursing homes in the US have been cited for serious or potentially life-threatening problems with its care.
- 5% of nursing home aides (staffers) in the US have criminal records which should disqualify them from employment in a long-term care facility.
- Only one in five instances of all abuse or neglect gets reported, while only one in 14 incidents actually get brought to the attention of proper authorities (state regulatory agencies, police).
- 1.6 million people currently live in US nursing homes. That number is expected to reach over 5 million in the next 3 decades, driving relevant abuse rates up 300% if nothing is changed.
- Neglect constitutes for nearly 60% of all cases of nursing home abuse.
Why is Abuse and Neglect so Prevalent in US Nursing Homes?
Many healthcare industry experts concur that insufficient staffing is the leading cause of most cases of nursing home neglect and preventable accidents. Failure to properly screen, train and monitor employees are the leading contributors to the cases of physical and sexual abuse.
Healthcare experts have also argued the subject of care quality in for-profit versus not-for-profit nursing homes. Some feel that higher levels of care come from not-for-profit homes because most are small and community or religious-based. Some of these homes also benefit from the ability to utilize volunteers in addition to accepting more government funding for resources. In contrast, for-profit facilities have the ability to charge more for care. This can help the facility run more efficiently and enable facility owners to reinvest profits and add more certified staffers as well as adding facility amenities for improving resident safety.
References:
National Center on Elder Abuse
