When it comes to protecting Pennsylvania seniors from the dangers of nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect, a national watchdog group said the Keystone State is failing. In fact, the national advocacy group, Families for Better Care, said Pennsylvania will get an F in report in a nationwide report that is expected to be released soon. For those following along, this is the second time Pennsylvania’s rating was downgraded – it went from a C to this year’s impending F. In a new report, a Families for Better Care official said that not only is Pennsylvania failing when it comes to elder abuse and elder neglect issues, it is distinguished as one of the only states in the union that is stuck in a downward trend. By way of background, elder abuse and neglect is an issue nationally. How big an issue? Consider this: according to the National Center on Elder Abuse, one in 10 seniors reported having been abused in the past year. Here’s another staggering statistic from the group: about 95 percent of nursing home patients surveyed said they’d been neglected or had seen another resident being neglected. What is elder abuse and neglect? It takes many forms. Elder abuse and neglect can be:
- Physical (think bed sores, restraint injuries, bruises, slip-and-fall injuries, and medication errors)
- Verbal (yelling, humiliating and threatening nursing home patients)
- Emotional (ridiculing nursing home patients would be an example. Isolating nursing home patients from those they care about, like family and trusted friends)
- Financial (bills going unpaid, money from accounts going missing)
- Or even sexual
- Pennsylvania state law requires 2.7 hours of direct care per nursing home resident, per day
- Florida state requires 3.6 hours of direct care per nursing home resident, per day
- The national average is 3.6 hours of direct care per nursing home resident per day
- Florida was given an A grade by Families for Better Care
- Pennsylvania is expected to receive an F grade