Elder abuse can happen anywhere, unfortunately. It is something that can take many different forms and appear in many different ways. It’s something that can happen purposefully by an individual who is more concerned about themselves than they are about other people, or it can happen unwittingly because of laziness or neglect. It’s a horrendous act however it appears, and it’s one that we should all be vigilantly looking out for.
Abuse can be physical, emotional, or sexual. It can occur through financial exploitation or theft. It can also take the shape of neglect because of any unskilled or uncaring caregiver. Whatever its form, abuse is horrible. It’s also preventable in a lot of cases.
The sad reality is that elder abuse can happen in a variety of places. Sometimes, it happens close to home, and it can occur without us even being aware of it if we’re not aware of what’s happening. It’s the obligation of every family member to be aware that this could happen, know what the warning signs of abuse are, and have a clear idea of what should be done if senior care is suspected.
This brief discussion is just a primer on abuse and how to handle it. There are a lot of good resources out on the web and within your community if you want to learn more about what senior abuse is and how to prevent it. Your county’s Senior Services Department can be a good starting point if you’re not sure where to look.
You can also give us a call for information on the safety protocol that we have in place to protect each of the seniors that we work with. The safety and the happiness of the people that we work with is our highest priority. We thoroughly examine each of our potential employees before hiring to make sure that there’s no history of abuse or other suspicious behavior. As a care service, we have an obligation to protect the people that we work with. Part of that is employing only the best caregivers. We want our staff to be highly trained when it comes to providing expert care, and we don’t want you to worry about placing your loved one with someone who could potentially be dangerous. If you would like more information on our procedures, we’d be more than happy to talk with you about the safeguards we use to protect our clientele.
If you do believe that elder abuse is occurring, your first step to get immediate help is to call the local police. They can begin a formal investigation and let you know what your next steps are to help ensure that your loved one is as safe as possible.
If that abuse is occurring within a nursing home or a long term care facility, there are others that should be notified. The management at the facility in question should be notified so that the employee or other individual suspected of abuse can be dealt with appropriately from a business point of view. This should be done in addition to any other local law enforcement agencies that are contacted.
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