The single major problem with assisted living facilities is that they are not subject to receiving government subsidies which means there is no government regulation; no one keeping watch over what happens behind closed doors.
Assisted living situations are not exactly cheap either, with costs often running as high as $5,500/month. Imagine paying that kind of money to be beaten, raped and abused. This is just the tip of the iceberg as well, with other forms of maltreatment ranging from emotional to psychological abuse, isolation from others, to withholding pain medications.
The news is rife with appalling cases of elder abuse, with a recent one in Massachusetts drawing the ire of those who read the story of four elderly women suffering from various forms of dementia who were assaulted by a certified nursing assistance. One thing should be noted here, and that is certified nursing assistants are not like registered nurses. The facts are that these assistants don’t get the same kind of rigorous training as a registered nurse during their six to twelve week course, nor do they get similar wages – often only earning between $10 - $16 and hour.
However, the lack of training and the lower wages should not be an encouragement to exploit the people they are caring for at these assisted living centers. Something is morally and ethically wrong with a person caring for mentally compromised seniors who takes advantage of their frailty and mistreat them.
Certified nursing assistants in these facilities and in government regulated nursing homes are hired to feed, dress and bathe their charges. However, in government facilities every move is scrutinized. This isn’t the case with assisted living facilities that have very little in the way of regulations to adhere to when it comes to providing patient care.
Cases like this not only make Americans sit up and take notice, but bring home a fact that many people tend to ignore – that one day they may face the same kind of situation themselves – and who will speak for them? If this kind of situation is going on in a facility and people are aware of it, they need to not only report the home, but speak to a highly skilled personal injury attorney. Someone needs to put a stop to elder abuse, even if it is one case at a time.
