Philadelphia Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
Nursing Home Abuse in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, and the sixth-largest city in the United States, with an estimated population in 2017 in 1,580,863. Philadelphia is considered the economic and cultural anchor of the greater Delaware Valley, and the Delaware Valley is the eighth-largest combined statistical area, with a population of 7.2 million.
Nursing Home Abuse Complaints in Philadelphia
Like any city, however, Philadelphia, unfortunately, has its share of the nation’s nursing home abuse. A year ago, the Philly Daily News reported that problems continued to plague the state’s investigation regarding nursing home abuse complaints. The article details that the Pennsylvania Department of Health “continues to do a poor job” of investigating complaints of nursing home abuse and neglect. Between 2015 and 2017, a full 85 percent of the complaints lodged against Philadelphia nursing homes for abuse and neglect of the elderly were dismissed—a very small improvement from the prior three- year period when 92 percent of the complaints were dismissed.
Despite the apparent disregard for nursing home resident complaints, during the annual investigations, the Department of Health has, apparently, been finding more violations regarding quality-of-care. As an example, there were 33 complaints filed against the Cheltenham Nursing & Rehabilitation Center from 2015-2017, yet only three of those were found to have merit. On the flip side, during the same time period, Cheltenham in Philadelphia East Oak Lane section received 31 violations during their annual inspections. Some of the quality-of-care violations were truly horrific, such as a maggot infestation of a patient’s wound, and mice infestations at six of the area’s nursing homes.
The inspectors noted “high levels of understaffing and poor care,” in many of the area nursing homes—definitely dismaying for those whose loved ones currently reside in Philadelphia area nursing homes. In late October, 2018, a list was published regarding Philadelphia’s best and worst nursing homes. The following nursing homes were chosen as the worst, as calculated by the center for Medicare and Medicaid Services:
- Caring Heart
- Cheltenham Nursing Center
- Fox Subacute at S. Philadelphia
- Glendale Uptown Home
- Inglis House, Liberty
- Somerton Nursing Center
- Willow Terrace
- St. Monica Center
- St. John Neumann Center
Nursing Home Abuse Across the Nation
In 2010, there were more than 40 million people age 65 and older across the nation—Baby Boomers who represent the largest segment of our population. Since this number is expected to increase exponentially over the next twenty years, there will be even more elderly individuals being cared for in nursing homes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define elder abuse as any type of neglect or abuse of a person over the age of 60 by a caregiver. It is difficult to say just how often nursing home abuse occurs, primarily because abuse and neglect of the elderly so often goes unreported. Despite the fuzzy data, one 2010 study found that the rate of elder abuse is at least 24 times greater than the number of elder abuse cases actually reported to law enforcement or social services.
In the state of New York alone, at least 260,000 elderly individuals have been the victims of some type of abuse, with psychological abuse being the most common form of elder abuse. Although abuse of the elderly can occur in many environments, the elderly who live in nursing homes appear to be abused more often than those in other settings—and there are more than three million individuals currently living in nursing homes. A 2000 study conducted by the National Center on Elder Abuse found that 44 percent of the elderly in nursing homes had been abused, and a staggering 95 percent had either been neglected, or seen others neglected.
Physical Abuse, Mental Abuse and Neglect of the Elderly in Nursing Homes
Physical abuse to frailer older individuals can result in bodily injury as well as permanent physical disabilities or even death. Emotional and psychological abuse may leave no outward scars, but can have an immediate impact to the mental state of the victim, as well as causing long-term physical problems. Emotional abuse can include threatening the victim, blaming the victim, engaging in demeaning behaviors toward an elderly individual, ridiculing the victim, yelling at the victim, isolating the elderly person from other residents, family and social occasions, intimidation, menacing behavior, terrorizing behavior, and ignoring the needs of the elderly person.
Neglect of elderly individuals involves physical neglect and emotional neglect. Physical neglect includes failure to attend to an elderly individual’s basic needs, whether medical, hygienic, nutrition and dietary needs, medications, bathing, grooming, dressing, or failing to provide sufficient food and water. Emotional neglect includes causing emotional pain, distress or anguish by ignoring the elderly adult. This neglect can cause significant injury and even death. When a caregiver’s negligence or a nursing home’s negligence leads to injury or harm, they can – and should be held accountable for their actions.
Getting the Help You Need for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
If you believe your elderly loved one has been the victim of nursing home neglect or abuse, the experienced Philadelphia nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at the Ciccarelli Law Office want to help. We are well aware of the huge emotional toll nursing home abuse cases take on the victim and on the entire family. We believe you deserve this time to circle around your loved one and help him or her recover from the nursing home abuse or neglect, while we work hard to secure justice on your behalf. If you suspect your elderly loved one is the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact the Ciccarelli Law Offices today. Nursing home abuse cases can be complex and difficult—call us today at (610) 692-8700 or (877) 529-2422.
When you need a team of experienced Pennsylvania nursing home neglect and injury lawyers, Contact the Ciccarelli Law Offices by email or phone at (610) 692-8700 or (877) 529-2422. We represent nursing home injury clients throughout the greater Philadelphia area including Chester County, Bucks County, Delaware County, Berks County, Lancaster County and Montgomery County. We offer multiple office meeting locations, home visits and hospital visits and serve clients in many locations including Philadelphia, Lancaster, West Chester, Reading, Downingtown, Coatesville, Kennett Square, Exton, Honey Brook, and Oxford.