Man Charged with Failure to Report Nursing Home Abuse

Man charged with failure to report nursing home abuse.

A Virginia nursing home administrator has been charged with failure to report an incident of abuse, according to the Washington Post. The nursing home administrator's charge makes her the second person charged over the sexual abuse of a resident. A nursing home nurse aid was charged with aggravated and misdemeanor sexual battery already, according to the report.
As is the case with many of these instances of abuse, the abuse was allegedly perpetrated against a nursing home resident who was unable to defend or stand up for herself. Sadly, people who are in such a state are frequently the targets of abusers.

Finding Reliable Care

The many stories like this one in the news sometimes make it difficult to believe that there is safe nursing home care out there. There is, however, and there are many people, from regulatory agencies to law enforcement to inspectors who work hard to make sure that there are safe and competent facilities where people can seek very involved medical treatment on a residential basis. In fact, the majority of nursing homes are good faculties that try hard to meet the needs of their patients and their patient's families. There are instances, however, where things go horribly wrong at these facilities.

Nursing Home Administration Issues

The case described above demonstrates a particularly bad situation. The administration wasn't reporting the abuse, which means that going to the administration for any assistance would be next to useless or altogether useless, at least if the charges are true. Many families may find themselves in situations where the nursing home administration doesn't take their complaints seriously enough or where they behave as if they do but nothing is ever done to remedy the situation. In some of the worst cases, the residents may suffer retaliation from the staff because of reporting the abuse at all.
If you discover the abuse, you may elect to skip the administration altogether and to go to the authorities. The most important thing is that the abuse is stopped immediately. Some victims of nursing home abuse end up dying from neglect or directly from the abuse that they suffered, and it's important that the crisis is stopped immediately. When it's over, you may want to look into contacting an attorney about filing a lawsuit over the abuse. They may be able to help you to get compensation that could be used to find better care.