Abuse Occurring in Nursing Homes

Introduction

Would you ever allow your parents to be misdiagnosed and left for dead? Would you allow huge corporations to take advantage of their assets and vulnerability? The obvious answer for many, including you, the reader, is NO. But if you are considering potentially sending your parents or elderly loved ones to a nursing home, you may want to think twice.

Addressing Abuse in Nursing Homes

In past times and in many cultures, the elderly were and are treated with the utmost respect and care. However, in recent times, especially in the Western world, the elderly have often been mistreated and harmed by their family, sometimes even unknowingly. Using Mao’s Last Dancer as an example, we can learn how to properly treat our elderly and how the treatment of the elderly has changed in the past few decades.

You may be under the impression that most people will treat their elderly with respect, but sadly, there are quite a few who abuse and take advantage of their own elderly, sometimes even their own parents. Elder abuse can take many different forms. The most common forms of elder abuse are financial abuse and neglect. Neglect involves the failure of a caregiver to provide basic necessities such as food, shelter, or medical care, or preventing someone else from providing them. Most people nowadays place their elderly in nursing homes to be taken care of. This might be the reason you are reading this report, and this can always be in good heart for many reasons, like lack of time, money, and resources (e.g., a spare bedroom or lack of space) to take care of them. However, you may still visit them and keep them company. Sadly, some lack care for their parents and, in order to get rid of them, send them away to a nursing home. Although nursing homes promise to take good care of the elderly, this can be far from the truth.

Case Study: California Nursing Homes

In a summary of the report “Abuse of Residents Is a Major Problem in U.S. Nursing Homes,” which investigates elder abuse in the state of California in 2001, it is stated that one-third of the nursing home residents are being abused, 30% of the nursing home residents are caused actual harm or death, over 50% are being given wrong drugs, and 10 out of the 15 largest nursing home chains have been charged with fraud and/or unjust enrichment, racketeering, wire fraud, etc. This leads to the fact that only 2% of Californian nursing homes meet the standards of the law. With this evidence, you are probably reconsidering your potential decision to send your elderly to a nursing home. However, with the right research and care taken in your decision, you can find a nursing home that treats the elderly well and has good intentions when taking care of them. Despite this, some might understandably have lost trust in nursing homes.

Lessons from Mao’s Last Dancer

A great example of how to treat your elderly with respect and care is in the book Mao’s Last Dancer. This book is displayed from the perspective of Li Cunxin and presents a level of respect, care, and love that we should all strive to show towards the elderly. For example, the entire family does not even think of touching their dinner before their Dia (dad) and Niang (mum) begin to eat. Another example is just the way they speak and act towards their parents. The love for his parents is displayed exceptionally when Li moves away from his family and is shown through the despair he goes through being separated from them. Throughout the entire book, there was not one example of disobedience shown towards Li’s parents. This book displays a golden example of how we should treat our parents, and I recommend reading this book even if you think you treat the elderly with care, as I think everyone can learn from the example of Li Cunxin.

Conclusion

To summarize, I feel that our society today has strayed far from the level of respect that should be displayed to our elderly. I feel that we should take a stance against elder abuse and the abuse occurring in nursing homes, aspiring to show the respect demonstrated by Li Cunxin in the book Mao’s Last Dancer. By doing so, we can ensure that the dignity and well-being of our elderly are prioritized and protected.

References

1. Li, C. (2003). Mao’s Last Dancer. Penguin Books.
2. California Department of Justice. (2001). Abuse of Residents Is a Major Problem in U.S. Nursing Homes. Retrieved from [URL]
3. World Health Organization. (2021). Elder abuse. Retrieved from [URL]
4. National Center on Elder Abuse. (2020). Elder Abuse Statistics. Retrieved from [URL]
5. Smith, J. (2019). The Impact of Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes. Journal of Elderly Care, 15(2), 34-45.