Today's Dr. Phil shocker: Nursing home abuse

Specialties Geriatric

Published

Or more specifically elder abuse.

A woman states this particular nursing home has been abusing her mother for 2 years. Would you wait that long to remove your mother if you believed she was?

Something not quite right here.

Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.
Then there are those family members that show up only on Easter and Christmas and complain about absolutely everything at those times. If they'd been in to visit their family member at some point before that, we may have been able to resolve these issues long ago...the valid ones anyway.

Y'up. It is called "guilt". They are transparent as jellyfish and wish we weren't on to their game. Sorry, we are not the idiot airheads you thought we were.

Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.
Oh, shows like Dr Phil are just trashy and melodramatic. I'm sure they'll play the "evil music" when they show the resident with bruises on his arm so the audience gets their cue to think "bad nurses". Cause we all know the only *possible* way a 90 year old on coumadin therapy could bruise is by staff abusing them....

That's right. Turn that tv way up and sit spellbound while they feed you trash. Let it eat you up, clog your arteries, narrow those arteries with anger, and up your cholesterol. Then, head to the doctor for pravacho; for we all know stress and misunderstanding is what is ailing you; and will dement you later on. Keep the tv on.

Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.

Do not let them win. Eat those steel cut oats, exercise, look and act nicely. Beat them everytime.

Or more specifically elder abuse.

A woman states this particular nursing home has been abusing her mother for 2 years. Would you wait that long to remove your mother if you believed she was?

Something not quite right here.

Uh no. I am wary and cagey in the first place, and it would be a nightmare to me to have to go that route with a loved one. At any rate, however, 2 weeks would be too long, much less 2 years.

I only wish there were workable solutions for some of these LT facilities. Some of them are all new and pretty; but the care is substandard.

I agree, however, with the person that basically said some people will do anything for their 15 minutes of fame.

Is it me, or is the Dr. Phil show kind of nuts? I can't imagine how people could feel so at ease with airing their dirty laundry like they do on that show.

I have a resident whose son refuses to let him wear Depends. His solution is to let his dad wear underwear with a pad. The poor guy is always urinating in his pants because sometimes he can't control his bladder. There have been days when this poor old man has had to change his pants 4 times during my shift. What does his son have to say about this? "You guys aren't checking on my dad enough and you aren't asking him if he needs to go to the bathroom." The son always lectures me about how much money he's spending on the "minimal" care that we provide. Sometimes I want to tell him to move his dad out if he hates it here so much. It's irritating how my ALD gives into his demands especially when the resident does go in his pants and I can't check on him until 30+ min later because he's not my only resident. When his dad gets a UTI, I'm sure the son will blame us.

The best part is when the son ridicules my resident for not being able to control his bladder. The guy is over 90. The fact that he can walk to and from the bathroom is an amazing feat for someone his age. If he's incontinent sometimes, so what? I think sometimes families can be the biggest abusers.

Doesn't the son understand what is going on with his dad physiologically? This is just stupid. I think the son doesn't understand the difference between his father's current situation and private duty care. Oy.

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

You can't fix stupid.

The video of this is here:

53a3c0e55ea5985eb599d26adfb52ed0.jpg

http://drphil.com/shows/show/1949/#

This is disturbing. There are many injuries and cuts (one going across the entire arm and deep), and an unbelievable amount of bruises everywhere.

Clearly this is abuse. If a person talks to the elderly, they will find these cases everywhere, unfortunately.

These abuses are one reason why I will never put my elderly family members in a nursing home/LTC. I will have them stay at an independent home for as long as they can and hire personal caregivers. If it costs me $18,000 a year, so what?

I feel sorry for the people who do not have the money to do this and have to send them to publicly funded nursing homes/LTCs. There are in-home services for the poor (IHHS), but this is not enough. Nursing homes/LTCs should be replaced entirely by in-home health care. Everyone should be at home with a caregiver 1 on 1, in a comfortable environment, and a calm and sunny place to live (I noticed in the video it was extremely dark, as if there were no windows in the place and dreary). Medical equipment should be more moveable and affordable, so everyone has their own system and equipment at home.

For now, I will never let a family member go to an LTC and advise everyone to do the same and hire 1 on 1 caregivers if they can.

Or more specifically elder abuse.

A woman states this particular nursing home has been abusing her mother for 2 years. Would you wait that long to remove your mother if you believed she was?

Something not quite right here.

The video of this is here:

53a3c0e55ea5985eb599d26adfb52ed0.jpg

Dr. Phil.com - Shows - Elder Abuse

This is disturbing. There are many injuries and cuts (one going across the entire arm and deep), and an unbelievable amount of bruises everywhere.

Clearly this is abuse. If a person talks to the elderly, they will find these cases everywhere, unfortunately.

These abuses are one reason why I will never put my elderly family members in a nursing home/LTC. I will have them stay at an independent home for as long as they can and hire personal caregivers. If it costs me $18,000 a year, so what?

I feel sorry for the people who do not have the money to do this and have to send them to publicly funded nursing homes/LTCs. There are in-home services for the poor (IHHS), but this is not enough. Nursing homes/LTCs should be replaced entirely by in-home health care. Everyone should be at home with a caregiver 1 on 1, in a comfortable environment, and a calm and sunny place to live (I noticed in the video it was extremely dark, as if there were no windows in the place and dreary). Medical equipment should be more moveable and affordable, so everyone has their own system and equipment at home.

For now, I will never let a family member go to an LTC and advise everyone to do the same and hire 1 on 1 caregivers if they can.

Wow that post is mostly insulting. $18000 is not just a lot of money for the 'poor' but for most people. Some elderly thrive in in the LTC environment too or might be in a position where in-home health care is not an option due to the level of care required.

Also, what medical equipment are you talking about? It's all very well being able to afford and buy medical equipment but there has to be a need or use for it and someone with the training and knowledge to use it.

Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I've worked in and have run several nursing homes. I would have my family member in any of them. I would stay in any of them. Home care is not always a viable option. Many residents are a two assist and very medically unstable. Family members or someone who'll be a 24 hour a day care giver for $18,000 a year can not possibly provide the care needed.

Specializes in LTC, Hospice, Case Management.
The video of this is here:

53a3c0e55ea5985eb599d26adfb52ed0.jpg

http://drphil.com/shows/show/1949/#

This is disturbing. There are many injuries and cuts (one going across the entire arm and deep), and an unbelievable amount of bruises everywhere.

Clearly this is abuse. If a person talks to the elderly, they will find these cases everywhere, unfortunately.

These abuses are one reason why I will never put my elderly family members in a nursing home/LTC. I will have them stay at an independent home for as long as they can and hire personal caregivers. If it costs me $18,000 a year, so what?

I feel sorry for the people who do not have the money to do this and have to send them to publicly funded nursing homes/LTCs. There are in-home services for the poor (IHHS), but this is not enough. Nursing homes/LTCs should be replaced entirely by in-home health care. Everyone should be at home with a caregiver 1 on 1, in a comfortable environment, and a calm and sunny place to live (I noticed in the video it was extremely dark, as if there were no windows in the place and dreary). Medical equipment should be more moveable and affordable, so everyone has their own system and equipment at home.

For now, I will never let a family member go to an LTC and advise everyone to do the same and hire 1 on 1 caregivers if they can.

You don't know what you don't know and you are making lots of assumptions on what you think you know!

(Just erased a very long paragraph to keep myself out of trouble. Carry on)

I agree with CapeCod. I have many people who thrive in long term care with increased socialization, proper nutrition and bathing. Home care can be an option or some, but home care dollars are just as stretched as long term cares. They suffer the same pressures to have a healthy case load with nurses who may seem overloaded with start-of-cares and supervision visits. Quality long term care allows families to have peace. That daughter who was providing 24 hour care at home can now come in and visit as a daughter, not a care giver. Nurses who are in tune with the families can help alleviate the guilt and fear with a newly placed resident. There will always be "those families". I, thankfully, have encountered more families that I enjoy working with than the ones that make me cringe. (I just have to add that I want to throw my remote at the TV when those class action lawsuit commercials about elder abuse in nursing homes come on. And if Dr Phil was doing an interview with a daughter who was singing the praises of her mom's nursing home-no one would watch. Negativity and anger gets people talking)

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
The video of this is here:

53a3c0e55ea5985eb599d26adfb52ed0.jpg

http://drphil.com/shows/show/1949/#

This is disturbing. There are many injuries and cuts (one going across the entire arm and deep), and an unbelievable amount of bruises everywhere.

Clearly this is abuse. If a person talks to the elderly, they will find these cases everywhere, unfortunately.

These abuses are one reason why I will never put my elderly family members in a nursing home/LTC. I will have them stay at an independent home for as long as they can and hire personal caregivers. If it costs me $18,000 a year, so what?

I feel sorry for the people who do not have the money to do this and have to send them to publicly funded nursing homes/LTCs. There are in-home services for the poor (IHHS), but this is not enough. Nursing homes/LTCs should be replaced entirely by in-home health care. Everyone should be at home with a caregiver 1 on 1, in a comfortable environment, and a calm and sunny place to live (I noticed in the video it was extremely dark, as if there were no windows in the place and dreary). Medical equipment should be more moveable and affordable, so everyone has their own system and equipment at home.

For now, I will never let a family member go to an LTC and advise everyone to do the same and hire 1 on 1 caregivers if they can.

Wow....just wow!

Yes, there are issue with a lot of LTC facilities. My experience in the ER, however, is that most residents we get from LTC are treated way better than those who are "full care" at home. Now this is a generalization and you might provide great care at home for you loved ones. However, there are a lot of people who don't provide very good care at all for their elderly relatives living at home. Try and keep that in mind before you insult an entire group of nursing professionals.

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