Nursing homes, or special convalescent rest homes, are facilities that provide shelter, food, necessary prerequisites, and care for the sick, elderly, or infirm. The majority of residents in nursing homes are elderly; however, residents can be of any age and need significant care from health professionals, either physically or mentally. Iowa nursing homes follow a standard set of rules and regulations to avoid any violations or compliance issues. Even with these codes of conduct in place, nursing home abuse and injuries occur more frequently than one might expect.
If your loved one has been injured due to negligence or abuse, it’s essential to contact a personal injury attorney to safeguard your legal rights and pursue compensation for the harm suffered. To learn more about this neglect and speak to an experienced Iowa nursing home abuse lawyer, click here.
Types of Nursing Home Abuse
The Older Americans Act defines elderly abuse, exploitation, and neglect and has established a framework to follow when faced with or identifying abuse. The three types of abuse defined in the act are as follows:
- Self-neglect (Self-abuse)
- Domestic Abuse (Sexual Abuse)
- Institutional Abuse (Financial Abuse)
The most common type of abuse in Iowa nursing homes is institutional abuse. If your loved one requires constant attention and the nursing home staff fails to provide it, resulting in significant injury, you need to report this negligence.
Abuse can be emotional or physical. Emotional abuse includes intentional acts such as shouting aggressively to cause mental pain, threatening physical abuse, restricting certain privileges or facilities, and withholding food as a form of punishment. These actions can severely affect a person’s mental well-being and should be reported if experienced by you or your loved ones.
Physical abuse includes injuries such as bodily harm, not providing sufficient food leading to malnutrition and poor health, inadequate hygiene, intentionally not administering medicines at the prescribed times, and deprivation of other medical care.
How to Report Nursing Home Negligence in Iowa
Nursing home facilities are required to have periodic inspections and mandatory reporting. Although there are laws and regulations to prevent incidents involving nursing home residents in Iowa, if you believe your loved one is facing life-threatening danger or has been significantly affected by their care, do not hesitate to call 911 and move your loved one to a safe place.
Once you move your loved one to another nursing home, report the incident to the Iowa police and contact a reputable attorney.
In Iowa, you need to notify both the administrator and the director of nursing at the care facility to report the incident, injury, or abuse.
Furthermore, it’s important to report any serious neglect by the nursing staff to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (IDIA).
You can report the incident directly by calling them via telephone or online. If you are concerned about the nursing home authorities, you may opt to file the report anonymously.
Make sure to mention your concerns, and any names, dates, or information you recall. The IDIA will be obligated to investigate your claims and document the incident involving your loved one.
It might be possible that the IDIA will take some time to complete the investigation due to their workload. If the IDIA requests any information, respond to that request.
Moving your loved one is a difficult decision for families, and when you discover that their condition has worsened rather than improved, it’s okay to question the authorities. If you find that what happened to your loved one was intentional or a result of severe negligence, you need to take action.
