According to many studies done by universities and nonprofit organizations, nearly four million Americans over the age of 65 are abused each year in nursing home facilities. This number reflects physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, and other forms of neglect and mistreatment. In the Bronx area of New York, there have been many documented cases of elder abuse over the last five years.
In 2012, a Bronx nursing home worker was accused of sexually abusing an Alzheimer’s patient in their 80s, after being found in a closet with the patient. The incident was reported by a coworker to the management, who took immediate action. The employee had been working at the nursing home for over a decade, but there is no evidence of other victims of elder abuse in this Bronx nursing home.
The police, the New York Department of Health, and the family members were all contacted immediately. These charges carry a jail sentence and a life long registry on the New York state sex offender’s registry.
In 2015, another documented case of elder abuse in the form of sexual assault was taken before a judge. A nurse was accused of sexually assaulting a 64-year-old patient with dementia, a crime which could lead to up to four years in prison. The nurse settled outside of court, and the deal resulted in a loss of the nursing license as well as being registered on the state sex offender list.
The nurse also can never work for the New York Department of Education.
In 2013, a Bronx nurse’s aide was charged with abusing an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s. In this case, a concerned family member took action after noticing strange injuries on their grandmother that didn’t match with the facility’s story that she had injured herself. They placed a hidden camera in the patient’s room. The nurse was filmed hitting, restraining, and improperly handling the elderly woman.
The nurse was arrested and charged, and the patient was moved to a new nursing home facility. If convicted of the abuse, the nurse faces a year in jail.
In 2014, another aide in a Bronx nursing home was charged with the accidental death of a 77-year-old patient. An altercation between the aid and the patient led to a severe injury, which doctors cited as the cause of death a few days later. This nursing home, University Nursing Home, had previously been awarded five stars by the Medicaid inspectors, making it one of the few nursing homes in the state who received the highest rating for quality care.
The aide who was charged had worked at the facility for almost 15 years, and faces criminal abuse charges.
If you have a relative who lives in a nursing home or assisted living facility, you should know the signs of elder abuse. Injuries that do not seem to match the story given can be a red flag. A sudden onset of infection or malnourishment may be caused by illness, or by criminal neglect. Signs of depression or sudden withdrawal could be signs of emotional or sexual abuse.
While there is no mandatory reporting law in New York for those who suspect elder abuse, anyone in the Bronx who reports suspicious cases can ask that their name be kept confidential. For this reason, you can safely report any signs of elder abuse without the fear of retribution should the case turn out to be a natural result of illness or self neglect. Dialing 311 will put you in touch with the proper reporting channels.
Sources:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bronx-Nursing-Home-Sexual-Abuse-Arrest-Alezheimers-Patient-182621271.html