Nursing Home Abuse forum at Lawyers.com

Laywers.com has a message board community for information on Nursing Home Abuse. This is something that I find to hit very close to home because when my dad was forced to be in rehabilitation and nursing homes after his stroke he was in one of the best rehabilitation centers in the country and was allowed to get so dehydrated that on him and my mom's wedding anniversary he had a heart attack and was rushed back to the hospital.

In separate instances he was left to fend for himself by the nursing staff of both that place and the next place he was at. I finally got him two way radios so he could call me for help when he had to have someone.

Stories occasionally surface about old ladies that were beaten for messing their depends as they slept, or of men that were allowed to become so dehydrated they suffered heart attacks. Occasionally you hear of large scale abuse such as what occurred during hurricane Katrina, or of easily prevented neglect such as the gentleman that recently drank a poisonous cleaner found under the counter in the assisted living facility he was at.

The awful truth is that abuse and neglect is more common in nursing homes and assisted living facilities than people want to believe, with a large number of the cases going unreported. The news was reporting that in only 24 states does there have to be a nurse on staff at an assisted living facility. Only 32 states require workers to know CPR. Only Alabama requires a physician be in charge.

One assisted living facility has as its only rule for workers "patients should be awake and dressed". Anyone age 18 and over can work in the facilities without experience in caring for others.