1 in 5 nursing home residents are abused – by other residents

Published December 9, 2014 | By Coluccio Law

Cornell University has completed the first study on resident-to-resident violence and aggression in nursing homes.

The studied behaviors ranged widely, from physical attacks and sexual violence to invasive acts, like going through another resident’s possessions.

The study gathered data for more than 2000 residents in 10 nursing homes. The researchers interviewed residents, and pulled reports by nursing home staff and inspectors for a 4-week period.

• 16% of residents experienced verbal abuse, defined as cursing, screaming or yelling
• 7 % reported physical abuse— hitting, kicking or biting
• 3 % experienced sexual abuse, such as genital exposure, inappropriate touching, or attempts for sexual favors
• 8 % reported inappropriate, disruptive or hostile behavior by other residents

These are surprisingly high rates of resident-on-resident abuse. Skilled nursing facilities tend to be run similarly to hospitals, as the residents require more physical care than assisted living facility residents.

Yet, nurses and staff had only reported a fraction of the abuse that the residents experienced.

http://waelderabuse.com/blog/

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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15th

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15th

• What is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day?
• How Can I Be Involved?
• Resources and Useful Links

What is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day?

Each year, hundreds of thousands of older persons are abused, neglected, and exploited. In addition, elders throughout the United States lose an estimated $2.6 billion or more annually due to elder financial abuse and exploitation, funds that could have been used to pay for basic needs such as housing, food, and medical care. Unfortunately, no one is immune to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It occurs in every demographic, and can happen to anyone—a family member, a neighbor, even you. Yet it is estimated that only about one in five of those crimes are ever discovered.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. In addition, WEAAD is in support of the United Nations International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue. WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

http://www.aoa.gov/AoA_programs/Elder_Rights/EA_Prevention/weaad.aspx

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Getting older can actually be a wonderful thing

"Arnold Schwarzenegger's new action movie is his third bomb in a row," Savage told his listeners, adding:

It says here that in his career he's helped sell over a billion movie tickets, but that was a long time ago.

The fact of the matter is, it's not that the reviews for his new movie were bad.

It's that he's old, and Hollywood is no country for old men.

It's the same with other action stars.

Who wants to go see an old man pretending to be a young man?

If you've used your body all your life, and it's worked for you, God bless you.

But let me tell you something: After a certain age, your body doesn't carry you very far.

Then you have to revert to your mind, and many people have no mind to revert to.

For those of us who've never had to use our bodies because we couldn't when we were younger and were forced to use our brains to get where we are, getting older is actually a wonderful thing.

We can go on doing what we do forever as long as our brains comply.

Visit the Michael Savage website here.