Few things can traumatize a family like an older loved one being the victim of abuse or neglect while residing in a nursing home. Even a close inspection of a long-term care facility and a review of their operating history can sometimes fail to prepare you for a family member or friend whose physical, emotional or financial well being are adversely affected.

When the time comes to seek affordable and reputable long-term assisted living for a family member, many people fail to do their homework. There are many local, state and national resources available to help you avoid selecting a facility with a poor record of abuse and neglect reports.

No one expects to discover that their loved one has been denied a healthy and safe living environment, nutritious food and appropriate medical attention. Yet abuse and neglect occur at nursing homes across the country, and serious injury and even death can be a result.

Abuse can take many forms, from physical mistreatment and sexual abuse to purposeful emotional or psychological abuse. Nursing home abuse victims may be physically mishandled, verbally traumatized or subjected to a variety of other forms of abuse. A severe injury can also occur when a facility’s staff neglects residents, denying them adequate access to personal hygiene, medical treatment, or allowing them to remain unattended for long periods of time.

Fortunately, there is help for those seeking a nursing home or assisted living facility. The State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs oversees the Florida Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. The organization offers assistance and guidance in selecting a nursing home facility, advocates for the rights of nursing home residents and their families and provides a hotline for the filing of a report in an abuse or neglect case.

Another excellent source of information about protecting the legal rights of a nursing home resident with resources that list nursing home performance ratings can be found at www.floridahealthfinder.gov, the website of the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration.

The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Goldberg, Racila, D’Alessandro & Noone understand how emotionally difficult it may be to make the decision to admit a family member or loved one into a long-term care facility. If your mother, father or another relative suffers an injury or serious medical ailment because of their caretaker’s negligence, it leads to a truly traumatic situation. Call us at 239-461-5508, or visit our website at www.goldberg-law.com