NURSING HOME DANGERS PART II: MENTALLY ILL PATIENTS THREATEN SAFETY OF ELDERLY. CALL RESIDENTIAL CARE LAWYERS OF LOS ANGELES.
Nursing homes, also known as residential care facilities, exist to care for those who are unable to care for themselves. In most cases those people are senior citizens. In this second part of our NURSING HOME DANGER blog, we’ll look at the new threat posed by mentally ill patients in nursing homes.
While it may not be the most ideal situation, many elderly Americans spend the end of their lifetime at a nursing home. Seniors enter these assisted living institutions with the expectation that they will be cared for and safe. Unfortunately a new trend brought on in part by the nation’s economic crisis, is compromising nursing home residents’ sense of security. The trend is the growing number of younger mentally ill patients in nursing homes. These patients may pose a threat to their elderly roommates under certain circumstances. Murders, beatings and rapes have been reported at nursing homes around the country. Nine percent of nursing home populations are mentally ill under 65. According to an AP (Associated Press) report, the number is rising and seniors are afraid. If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed at a nursing home in California, call 1-800-ALAWPRO to speak to an attorney for free.
More than 125,000 seriously mentally ill young and mid-aged adults live in residential facilities among often frail seniors. Mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression can lead a person to require the type of care offered at a nursing home. Without the proper supervision or medication, mentally ill residents may become violent or unstable. Nursing home supervision is often woefully understaffed and unprepared for mentally ill patients, but closing of mental wards and a need to fill nursing home beds has led to the potentially lethal combination of mentally ill and elderly.
While no statistics exist regarding the number of incidents of mentally ill patients hurting elderly patients at nursing homes, there are specific incidence reports. Mentally ill nursing home residents have assaulted elderly residents, leading to their death. Mentally ill resident have started fires that killed more than a dozen patients. Reports of rapes and beatings also exist. Federal law protects all nursing home patients from physical abuse, but the number of non-elderly patients appears to be putting that right at risk. To learn more about elder abuse and victim’s rights, visit our website at www.alawpro.com.
If you believe someone close to you has been the victim of elder abuse or wrongful death at a California nursing home, please seek legal help at once. The Rudman Law Firm, PLC have collected more than $150 million for our clients. Call us now at 1-800-ALAWPRO (1-800-252-9776) for a free and private consultation. We are here for you now.
