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How to Spot Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Quite often, when a loved one is no longer able to care for themselves, the only viable option available to the family is to place them in a nursing home. however, once the transition has been made to a nursing facility, how do you know if your loved one is being properly cared for? what do you do if you suspect your loved one is suffering from abuse or neglect at the hands of the doctors, nurses or other staff members at the nursing home? As a family member it is important to know some common signs of abuse and neglect that may occur in a nursing home.

Bedsores – According to the Mayo Clinic .bedsores are injuries to skin and underlying tissue that result from prolonged pressure on the skin. Bedsores are most often associated with patients who are confined to a bed, but they can also develop on the heels, ankles, hips or buttocks of people who have restricted mobility, such as patients confined to a wheelchair. Bedsores can be avoided by frequently changing the position of patients that have restricted mobility to avoid constant pressure on areas of their body which comes from not being able to move themselves. if your loved one is suffering from bedsores it could be a sign of neglect.

Broken Bones – Elderly people can be more susceptible to broken bones and fractures due to diminished bone density, but these types of injuries can be caused by abuse or neglect as well. if a nursing home resident is not being properly monitored or cared for and falls or experiences some type of traumatic injury which results in broken or fractured bones, this may constitute neglect. if a broken bone is directly caused by an action of an employee of the home, it is most likely abuse. It is important that you contact the proper authorities immediately if you suspect abuse or neglect.

Malnutrition – Malnutrition can be caused by an illness that the patient or resident of a nursing home suffers from, but if no such illness has been previously diagnosed and documented and malnutrition is evident it could be due to neglect or abuse by the nursing home staff. the person suffering from malnutrition may be experiencing intentional refusal by the nursing home or staff to the proper amount or quality of food they require on a daily basis. It may also be a case that they are being intentionally starved in order to punish them, or some other form of extremely inappropriate and dangerous behavioral abuse committed by the staff. if you believe that your loved one is suffering from malnutrition you should consult with a doctor outside of the nursing home in order to receive an independent appraisal and diagnosis of potential malnutrition. if the doctor feels that the patient is not receiving the correct nutritional support they require and malnutrition is evident, contact the authorities immediately, and then contact an attorney as well.

Making the life-altering decision to place a loved one in a nursing home can be a phenomenally difficult and emotional task. you shouldn’t have to worry about their safety and well-being once they have been entrusted to the care of a nursing facility. be watchful for signs of abuse and neglect, and if possible, visit your loved one often. Show-up on different days at different times so you can observe and get an idea as to what kind of treatment and support they are receiving during different days and times of the week. if you observe any of these signs of nursing home neglect or abuse in a loved one who it is important that you contact the staff and administration of the facility immediately. if you do not receive the answers or attention you feel are required then notify the proper city, county and health authorities, and immediately contact an attorney that can provide the best assistance in legal support and representation for your loved one during their time of need.

How to Spot Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Richardson plans to buck odds, be anything but ordinary for Browns

NEW YORK—The image made Trent Richardson flinch. and blink. and think of his two young daughters, who already know how to bring him gauze bandages and a plastic stethoscope whenever he has even the hint of a tired limp.

“They try to doctor me up,” he said.

This was the day before the NFL draft spat out two predictable picks and then stunningly reversed course. This was an afternoon when strangers kept asking Richardson where he thought he’d land, which teams intrigued him, and the more they poked around his future, the more he did a slow burn. he bristled when someone wondered why it has been fashionable for clubs to shy away from selecting running backs in the first round.

Richardson, Weeden begin offensive overhaul | Weeden to the Browns? McCoy should worry | Richardson becomes Browns’ cornerstone | Round 1 decisions

But then Earl Campbell’s name was mentioned, and how he’s forced to use a walker when he isn’t in a wheelchair because of debilitating back pain and arthritic knees. Somewhere Eddie George strolled the grounds, his shuffle a harsh reminder that statistically, running backs have the shortest career of all prospects. perhaps feeling sympathy pangs, Richardson gestured at his own knee that just two months ago had to be scoped.

“I want to make sure I can walk when I’m done with my college career. Excuse me, I mean my NFL career. I’m still in college mindset,” he said.

—More Browns draft news

there was a time when running back was football’s marquee position. Every little kid wanted to wear the white shoes, be on the magazine covers. Now the league’s besotted with empty backfields and running backs-by-committee. That’s why it was something of a mind-blowing moment when the Cleveland Browns traded up a spot and relinquished precious other picks—a fourth-, fifth- and a seventh-rounder—to grab Richardson with the third selection overall Thursday night.

Trent Richardson is the Cleveland Browns’ new franchise cornerstone. (AP Photo)

even before Cleveland shook up the draft, Browns legend Jim Brown crankily told ESPN Radio that Richardson was “ordinary.” while that characterization of Richardson is seriously debatable, Brown understands that running backs do tend to require more replacement parts than an Alfa Romeo.

“I got a lot of big shoes to fill, and I’ve got high expectations for myself,” Richardson said after being selected, when his professional shelf life began ticking. “This team has a real good tradition with running backs. I want to be one of the great ones.”

with a thickly coiled physique and a punishing running style that resembles Campbell’s, Richardson at Alabama was an outstanding tackle breaker. He’d stiff-arm opponents in the open field, drag the pile, pick up extra yards while running through defenders, block and dazzle with soft hands as a receiver out of the backfield.

Imagine the kind of college career he’d have had if he hadn’t spent chunks of it sharing the load with Heisman Trophy winner mark Ingram. last year, Ingram was the first back chosen in the draft, sweating it out until the New Orleans Saints grabbed him with the 28th pick.

Imagine how Ray Lewis must now be salivating. last year, Browns quarterback Colt McCoy was chewed up and regurgitated in the AFC North, a division so brutal it’s a shock that players can even make it to the team bus on certain Sundays. Into this fun house of an offense that averaged all of 13.6 points per game comes Richardson, heralded as Cleveland’s most gifted running back since Brown burst onto the scene as the no. 6 overall pick in 1957.

Ordinary? That’s hard to digest considering Richardson, in his three-year tenure with the Crimson Tide, was a powerful cog in two BCS national championship teams. there are some SEC teams still plotting how to take him down.

“I’m an ordinary human, but as a back, I’m going to be that special guy,” Richardson said, his confidence scorching for someone not yet 21.

Ordinary players don’t have surgery on both ankles in college, hear doctors say they might never run again … and then rush for 1,679 total yards in 2011, seemingly half of them while lugging along defenders. it takes a big man to rise far above ordinary and be a full-time, doting father to two girls, now ages 5 and 3, while also happily doing whatever it took to keep his mother, Trina, smiling as she battled cancer.

“Adversity makes you stronger,” he said before the Browns did the unfashionable and cleared the decks. “I can’t speak for any of the running backs that have come before me, but that’s why I plan to survive and thrive.”

Richardson plans to buck odds, be anything but ordinary for Browns