Nursing Home Abuse Statistics

Many people who read this blog are familiar with the ideas of nursing home abuse.  However, you might not realize just how widespread an issue elder abuse is in nursing homes and how underreported these cases are.

The Charleston Examiner took a look at instances of nursing home abuse and came up with some interesting statistics.  According to the article:

About 1 of every 700 United States nursing homes have been issued a citation for some form of elder abuse. This may include residents being punched, kicked, neglected, or choked by either employees or fellow residents.

An amendment is currently being discussed in Washington, DC that might re-establish a previously abolished federal law that would increase nursing home spending. This amendment, called, the Boren amendment, would "guarantee that the nation's 17,000 homes do a better job of screening, training and counseling their staff."

About 1.5 million seniors live in nursing homes.
 
Over two times as many nursing homes were cited for abuse in 2010 than in 2009.

In 2009, fifty nine percent of all nursing homes were cited for an abuse violation in the work of their annual inspections; in 2010, 16 percent of nursing homes were cited.

In a study looking at 1,507 nursing homes and their citations, about one in ten serious instances of abuse occurred that would put residents in significant danger.

In another study looking at nursing home abuse, one out of every 225 homes was cited for abuse violation in a two-year period.  Over 39%, roughly 3,700 abuse violations, were only reported after formal complaints came from residents, their families or community advocates.

Thank you to the Charleston Examiner for these statistics and information. Attorney Doug Stoehr is a central Pennsylvania lawyer specializing in nursing home abuse and negligence.  For more information on his practice, please visit our website.