Seniors at Risk of Illinois Nursing Home Abuse

Chicago, ILWhen it comes to crime, allegations of Illinois nursing home abuse can be shocking. Although many people think their loved ones are safe when they move into an Illinois nursing home, even seniors who live in nursing homes in Illinois can be victims of Illinois nursing home abuse.

According to the Illinois Department on Aging, many victims of elder abuse are subjected to more than one type of abuse. That abuse includes physical, sexual or emotional abuse, confinement, passive neglect, willful deprivation and financial exploitation.

Not all forms of Illinois nursing home abuse require malicious intent on the part of the abuser. For example, passive neglect can involve the failure to provide a senior with the necessities of life because of failure to understand the senior's needs or lack of capacity to care for the senior properly. Although the abuser may not have intended to cause harm to the senior, harm is being done because the caregiver is unable to provide proper, necessary care.

Willful deprivation, on the other hand, involves purposefully denying a senior with necessities of life, putting the senior at risk of injury or even death. Confinement involves restraining or isolating a senior for reasons that are not medically necessary.

The Illinois Department on Aging states that 58 percent of reports of elder abuse allege financial exploitation—misuse or withholding of the senior's resources, often to profit the abuser—while 43 percent allege emotional abuse, 39 percent allege neglect and 22 percent allege physical abuse.

Although nursing home abuse is often perpetrated by nursing home staff, some situations are caused by other residents of the home. It is the nursing home staff's responsibility to ensure all residents are safe. This includes preventing residents from physically and/or sexually assaulting other residents.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to determine if a loved one is a victim of Illinois nursing home abuse. Fear of repercussions or embarrassment at having been abused may prevent the victim from speaking out. Furthermore, the victim may not be capable of understanding what has happened to him or her.

There are signs to watch out for that can indicate some form of Illinois nursing home abuse has occurred. This includes unexplained injury, sudden change in personality, bed sores (it is up to nursing home staff to frequently move immobile residents to prevent bed sores from developing), dehydration or malnutrition, depression, failure to take part in activities, unexplained bank account activity and missing property.