Elder Abuse In Nursing Homes

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Due to the prolific occurrence of elder abuse in the nations nursing homes, the federal government has justified intervention and implementation of federal regulations and sanctions in order to monitor the incidences of abuse reported. Within the scope of the study, the government's first attempt at regulation, the OBRA of 1987 is assessed in light of recent findings by academic literature and the GAO's 1999 report on the level of success achieved by OBRA. Literature and governmental studies indicate that the OBRA was only a vague attempt to curb abuse and sanctions proved difficult to implement. The true nature of the problem rests in administration of nursing homes due shortages of staff in the following ways:

• Poor hiring standards
• Lack of applicable candidates
• Scarce funding resources

These elements leave nursing homes ill-prepared and in a cycle of staffing problems which lead to cutting corners on care catapulting into incidences of abuse and finally government sanctions. The final government sanctions have not proven to correct problems, only cite them. Further research is needed to determine how to correct the problems of underlying administrative problems leading to abuse with the nursing home setting.

Admittance to Nursing Homes

Oftentimes patients acquire life-threatening problems after admittance to nursing homes, signaling a problem within the structure of the home. Administrative ineffectiveness is certainly a major portion of the problem of abuse in the nursing home industry. Within the scope of the study, it is the goal of the researcher to determine underlying causes in which the goals of the OBRA failed nursing home administrators. Clearly, the one quintessential element the government has ignored in its regulation of nursing homes is the problem of inadequate staffing.

Inadequate Staffing in Nursing Homes

Inadequate staffing rests on the shoulders of the administrators that hire poor staff and those administrators that choose to hire too little staff. In the nursing home setting, often administrators are faced with a shortage of staff due to the nursing professions distaste for work in nursing homes. Administrators are in need of staff and often choose candidates to fill positions without proper background checks due to the need to staff their facility. However, the nursing home industry has found itself targeted by a criminal element that is eager to take advantage of the elderly residents with the facility. The study illustrates that 25 percent of staff abuse was committed by persons with prior a criminal record.