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Madison Herron
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 Honors
3 March 2016
Abuse in Nursing Homes
People whether they like it or not will get old. During the time people age they become
fragile, and they need help with their daily activities. When people become old sometimes the
families can not take care of them, thus the elderly have to go to nursing homes. Nursing homes
are meant to care for loved ones who cannot take care of themselves. Sometimes the
vulnerability of the elderly make them a target for abuse. While being cared for in nursing
homes, the elderly experience three main types of abuse: physical abuse, financial abuse, and
emotional abuse.
Many residents in nursing homes experience physical abuse. Physical abuse includes
hitting, kicking, grabbing, or even rough handling (Haley and Stein 89). Physical abuse would
include any actions of laying a hand on another person. A Congressional report shows some
nursing homes were reported for physical abuse (Ruppe). Nine thousand instances were reported;
in fact, one thousand six hundred one cases were severe enough to cause harm to the residents,
and other cases left the residents close to death (Ruppe). The report shows that nursing homes
deals with physical abuse. Nursing homes have many occurrences of physical abuse. One
example of physical abuse was voiced in a congressional report. The Congressional reports states
that attendants bribed a brain-damaged patient with cigarettes to attack another resident, then
the attendants watched the two fight (Ruppe). In this case the attendants did not directly hit the
patients, but the incident did show physical abuse. One patient was attacked by another patient

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because the people in charge bribed the patient who was brain damaged with cigarettes. Physical
abuse also comes directly from the nurses themselves. The physical abuse was exposed by video
cameras. One man believed his dad who had Alzheimers was being abused because bruises
continued to appear on him (Sevcik). The son placed a hidden camera in his dads room, and the
camera caught two nurses beating the elderly man (Sevcik). During the video a nurse kicked the
dad, and he sustain an injury (Sevcik). The son had without a doubt caught the nurses physically
abusing the elderly dad. The two examples certainly show that the elderly were physically
abused. Physical abuse comes in a wide variety.The elderly are kicked, punched, burnt with
cigarettes, and many other things from many people. One case it was direct abuse from the
nurses while the other case it was from the resident bride by the nurses. Whether the abuse is
from the patients or nurses physical abuse is present in nursing homes.
Another type of abuse the elderly encounter in nursing homes is financial abuse.
Financial abuse is defined the persons money, property, or assets are being improperly used
(Haley and Stein 90). Financial abuse does not merely mean taking all the victims money. If the
money is even used improperly then it is financial abuse. One example of financial abuse was
reported in the summer of 2012. A nursing home could not meet the payroll, therefore the
nursing home took the money out of the patients trust fund accounts; however, the money was
returned (How Patient Trust Accounts at Nursing Homes Are Open to Abuse). The example is
financial abuse because the money was used improperly which is the definition of financial
abuse. The nursing home has control over the patient's funds to pay for services or food for the
patient that is not covered by the general nursing home fee (How Patient Trust Accounts at
Nursing Homes Are Open to Abuse). The money could have been used for a haircut not the
payroll, but since the nursing home did use the money for payroll the nursing home financially

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abused the elderly patients. Even though the money was returned the money was not meant to be
use for payroll. Financial abuse does not have to have nursing homes take the money directly out
of the patient's account. A sign of financial abuse is when poor level of care is present although
the accounts have enough money to provide proper care (Haley and Stein 91). The sign indicates
that financial abuse is happening when the care of the elderly is lacking although the money is
sufficient to provide acceptable care. Some nursing nevertheless provide unacceptable care even
when money is being poured in the nursing homes. In 2006 the federal government gave nursing
homes around one hundred twenty nine billion dollars; however, an investigation found that
much of the money was not spent on staff increase, and number of staff directly affects the
quality of care of the elderly (Couch). Nursing homes are getting more money to hire more
workers. The government subsidized the money to the nursing homes because they wanted more
workers on account of a study that showed it was directly related to the quality of care. Nursing
homes did not spend the money on staff which means the quality of care was not increased. The
nursing homes are guilty of financial abuse because they had the money to provide great service,
but they did not value the well being over making a profit. The elderly experience financial abuse
while they live in nursing homes.
The elderly also deal with emotional abuse in nursing homes. While approximately ten
percent of the elderly in America who live in nursing homes are victims of abuse or neglect
verbal abuse is the most common types of emotional abuse that affect nursing homes ("Verbal
Abuse in Nursing Homes"). A study completed by United State representative Henry Waxman
cited instances of frightening physical, sexual and verbal abuse in nursing homes (Haley and
Stein 92). The study shows that nursing homes are affected by verbal abuse. Verbal abuse
includes name-calling, insults, threats and harassment (Haley and Stein 89). Verbal abuse is most

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common in nursing homes which means the elderly are being insulted, called names, threatened,
and harassed while they are living in nursing homes. Verbal abuse appears in nursing homes just
as often as physical abuse appears. Physical abuse is shown clearly, but verbal abuse is not as
easily shown as a bruise. When the elderly are verbally abused, they are more distant from other
people, hesitant to speak, and have a low self esteem ("Verbal Abuse in Nursing Homes"). When
people have their family member in a nursing home they want the family member to live the rest
of their life as happy and peaceful as possible. The elderly are not living a peaceful life when
they are being verbally abused in the nursing homes. Even though the elderly need extensive care
which requires a great deal of patience it does not excuse the verbal abuse that the elderly
experience when in nursing homes. The elderly experience emotional abuse while in living in
nursing homes.
While being cared for in nursing homes, the elderly experience three main types of abuse:
physical abuse, financial abuse, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse is when someone is hitting
a person. Verbal abuse is when someone is emotionally hurting at a person. Financial abuse is
when someone handle the money improperly. Sadly many instances have shown an exceeding
amount of abuse around the world. To make matters worse people abuse one of the most
vulnerable groups; the elderly in nursing homes. Nursing homes sometimes fail to be the safe
haven for the elderly.

Worked Cited
Couch, David. The Elderly In Nursing Homes Are Vulnerable To Abuse. n.p.: Gale,
Cengage Learning, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Haley, John, and Wendy Stein. The Truth about Abuse. New York: Facts On File, 2005.
Print.

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"How Patient Trust Accounts at Nursing Homes Are Open to Abuse. Globe & Mail (Toronto,
Canada) 2015: Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Ruppe, David "Elderly Abused at 1 in 3 Nursing Homes: Report." ABC News. ABC News
Network. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Sevcik, JC. "Nursing Home Employees Abuse Alzheimer's Patient, Caught On Camera." UPI
Top News (2014): Points of View Reference Center. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
"Verbal Abuse in Nursing Homes." - Nursing Home Abuse Guide. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.