According to a recent study by National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, Malnutrition and Dehydration in Nursing Homes: Key Issues in Prevention and Treatment, at least a third of the 1.6 million nursing home residents in the United States suffer from malnutrition or dehydration.
According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, physical abuse in nursing homes is the top-reported complaint of elder abuse, at 27.4%. Shockingly, over 50% of nursing home staff have confidentially admitted to abusing residents in their care.
One of the more obvious warning signs of elder abuse or neglect is the presence of bed sores. Bed sores, also known as pressure sores, are painful skin ulcers that can be fatal at their worst stage. When they form on nursing home patients, it usually indicates issues of understaffing or negligence.
More than two million cases of elder abuse are reported in the United States every year, and as many as one in ten elderly people are victims of elder abuse in some form.* You should be aware of these warning signs to keep your loved one safe.