Bringing Awareness to Alzheimer’s & Patients Living in Florida Nursing Homes with this Disease
Alzheimer’s is horrible disease that affects a person’s mind over time. Typically, Alzheimer’s comes on slowly – where loved ones start seeing changes in a family member. Maybe that loved one’s memory starts slipping, it’s hard for the person to perform routine tasks, the person has a difficult time remembering words, he or she starts misplacing things and gets lost, and the person is easily confused. Eventually, a person affected by Alzheimer’s can’t remember how to drive and how to take care of oneself. As a result, many spouses and adult children often take on the role of being a caregiver.
In light of November being Alzheimer’s Awareness Month and National Family Caregiver Month, the Law Offices of David Benenfeld would like to bring awareness to the Alzheimer’s disease and commend caregivers for watching out for people who suffer from this disease. In fact, there are over 15 million Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers in our nation who should be thanked for everything they do.
The Reality of Alzheimer’s Disease
About 5.4 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s. Many of these people reside in their own homes and are taken care of by family members or other caregivers – until the disease progresses. Once the disease advances, a person can become aggravated, aggressive, unruly and overall hard to take care of. Thus, many families are forced to make difficult decisions about a loved one’s long-term care. As a result, most Alzheimer’s patients come to live in skilled nursing homes – especially as the disease progresses.
Alzheimer’s Patients in Nursing Homes
When families make this difficult decision of entrusting their loved one to a nursing home, they believe the nursing home will take great care of their family member. Unfortunately, this oftentimes isn’t the case. So many nursing homes are understaffed or don’t properly train their workers. As a result, nursing home abuse and neglect takes place.
Abuse and neglect in nursing homes can come in many different forms, such as:
- Not turning patients regularly, so they develop bedsores
- Not treated bedsores and other infections in a timely manner
- Overusing restraints
- Using too much medication to sedate unruly residents
- Not providing the proper food and water, which can lead to malnutrition and dehydration
- Not changing soiled bed sheets
- Any type of financial, emotional, sexual or physical abuse
- And much more
This is not to say that all nursing homes in Florida behave in these ways or that everyone needs to be caregivers and keep their loved ones with Alzheimer’s at home. However, the reality of nursing home neglect and abuse – especially to those patients with Alzheimer’s – should be considered. This is why it is important that families carefully pick a nursing home and visit their loved one often – and at different times of the day to observe how the staff is treating their loved one.
The Law Offices of David Benenfeld hopes you and your family will never have to experience nursing home neglect and abuse; however, if you do, please call to talk about your legal rights. You can talk with a knowledgeable nursing home abuse lawyer in a free consultation at 866-9 HELP NOW or 866-943-5766.
