Abuse Of Handicaped People In Group Homes What Do You Do If This Happens

[angel62]

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

 

[tcay584]

angel62:

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

I would call the police, the news media, and every attorney I could find. You had better be right though.

 

[AlanFromWichita]

angel62:

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

I have known of several abuses that happened to a mentally ill relative of mine. First thing to do is get the person out of the situation. Then contact the authorities.

In one case, a couple friends and I showed up and took all her belongings out of the home while the owner was out. She had been raped, but by the time she admitted it to anybody there was probably not enough physical evidence and no non-hostile witnesses, so I don’t think charges were filed. It was reported to the appropriate agencies; I don’t know but we got her out of there, fast, and were more concerned with keeping her inaccessible to the possibly vindictive owner than with setting her up, already mentally incompetent, to face him in court.

In another case, it was an employee and not the owner who was doing the abuse so getting her out was with the owners’ cooperation. In that case, the maintenance man had been, among other things, stealing her cigarettes (which had been carefully allotted) out of her apartment and then “selling” them back to her for sexual favors, and threats if she told anybody or refused.

It seems this sort of thing is all too common. Mentally ill people are abused pretty regularly, and usually the perpetrators do not get caught. One of my daughter’s friends was adopted by her parents; her birth mother (the sister of our friend who is now the legal mother) was raped by an intern in a mental hospital.

I’m not sure why the smiley face, unless you thought these sorts of things were rare. The only reason that this hasn’t become a bigger stink than the Catholic Church’s abuses, is that the group homes are usually pretty low budget, and are funded by the government – so maybe there is too little monetary incentive for lawyers to get seriously involved as they did with the Church. Also remember the Church is evil to liberals but government handouts are infallible and empowering to them.

Will the liberal government fix the problems? You’ve got to be kidding. There are entire bureaucracies whose existence is based on the problems continuing – again unlike with the Church. Besides, the mentally ill people are not heard anyway, because nobody can understand them and if they do they don’t believe them.

Alan

 

[puzzleannie]

you are required by law to report abuse if you become aware of it. You are not required to provide proof, and you may report anonymously, but you must report.

 

[angel62]

tcay584:

I would call the police, the news media, and every attorney I could find. You had better be right though.

 

[Lilyofthevalley]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tcay584
I would call the police, the news media, and every attorney I could find. You had better be right though.

That’s right.

 

[angel62]

angel62:

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

 

[Forest-Pine]

I know someone who works in a nursing home/old folks home combo unit place. She is pro-euthanasia. Says most of the staff is as well. She doesn’t like to see them suffering and thinks it is dehumanizing. She also thinks if they have any oxygen or heart assistance or moderate-severe mental incapacitation (but not even being brain dead) that their spirit is gone and we should kill them. The argument of youthful people with pace makers or asthmatics like myself sometimes requiring oxygen does nothing to sway her. She says her professors in Anatomy and Physiology know better than the Church. Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention, she is ardently Roman Catholic…

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_2_200v.gif

She tells me about her normal day and how things run and it appalls me. Keep in mind, she isn’t telling me because she is complaining about the staff. She is saying the staff is great while the patients (and more commonly) their families are the problem. I kid you not.

She has absolutely no medical training other than the hope of one day being accepted in nursing school. She and other techs who are young, inexperienced, and untrained are the ones who take care of the patients 99% of the time with a nurse just signing off on it.

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She was complaining the other day about a family who went through the proper channels of complaint. It pissed her off that an auditor type guy came, which meant she had to hide her cup of Starbucks since they aren’t supposed to have drinks around the patient files and supplies. She went on for a full five minutes about how she didn’t get to drink the bottom couple swallows because she had to stay on her feet because of the stupid guy being there because of the stupid family members complaining about some stupid thing… Her poor feet are now sooooo swollen. She spent the rest of her shift after the guy left with her feet propped up on the sofa. But her Starbucks remnants were already cold and she couldn’t drink that. Isn’t that just terrible that she had to suffer like that?



She also was irate that she was scolded for leaving a patient’s door and curtain fully open while giving a man a sponge bath. “Its not like he even knew what I was doing!” And it is the keeping them alive part that is dehumanizing… :nope:

And she was complaining about a very large and violent man that a small tech was told to transfer from wheel chair to bed on her own. The man lashed out, the tech apparently did not respond in a proper manner, and the person I know was complaining that it was all the management’s fault for making the tech do the job on her own, completely exonerating the tech of wrongdoing in her mind.

I live in another state and can’t verify a thing. I “suspect” there is abuse going on, and apparently other people do as well. Unfortunately, I think this is far more common than we care to realize.

Everything I know is hearsay. What can I do? I prefer to educate people about the possible dangers of hospice and nursing home care and encourage them to honestly investigate any facility they are planning on using. Not giving food and water to elderly and disabled patients is more common than you think. It is already standard procedure in Britain. Their national health service is in court fighting to kill a man who ardently wants to live. They say food and water is too costly.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

angel62:

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

The homes I am familiar with have a prominant sign giving the name and phone number of the ombudsman who is responsible for investigating all problems. The ombudsman is independent of the home, and usually is quite dedicated in the cases I am familiar with.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

angel62:

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

If it’s an emergency (life or death; imminent danger) call the police or sheriff. For other situations call social services or a local abuse hotline. They are mandated reporters and have the right forms for child abuse and vulnerable adult abuse which is what you asked about specifically.

I would call the police, the news media, and every attorney I could find. You had better be right though.

I would leave the media for a time that you are getting no response in the situation. And a slow response doesn’t equal no response. It can take time (and several reports) to build a case.)

I have no idea what a lawyer could do in this situation except try to get rich by suing the nursing or group home.

As far as being right: if you make a report in good faith you won’t get into trouble if you are wrong.

Anyone can report abuse but not everyone is required to by law.

 

[Viki59]

Forest-Pine:

I]

She has absolutely no medical training other than the hope of one day being accepted in nursing school. She and other techs who are young, inexperienced, and untrained are the ones who take care of the patients 99% of the time with a nurse just signing off on it. ]

The nurse is “just signing off on it” probably because she’s in charge of 25 to 70 people, and is running around putting out fires, metaphorically speaking: giving medications, replacing feeding tubes, calming down patients with dementia, dressing wounds and answering phone calls from family members. She would no doubt love to have aides that know what they are doing and are compassionate, but you have to work with what you get.
Good nurses try to educate the staff if they are allowed time, but that isn’t always possible.

 

[MonicaPA]

angel62:

What would you do if you thougt or knew hanicaped people were being abused in group homes and other places?

Please pray about this & then report any suspected or known elder abuse to the proper authorities. The web page below has exactly the information that you need.

elderabusecenter.org/default.cfm

Peace in Christ,
Monica