Is The Nursing Home Over-Medicating Your Parent And Causing Harm?

bullet imageOne of the most difficult decisions that someone can make is to turn over the care of their elderly parent to a nursing home. In many cases, the home is not even chosen by the family. If an older person has been hospitalized, the family is often told that their mother or father needs to be sent to a rehabilitation facility to become stronger before going home. The rehabilitation facility may be a separate wing of a nursing home. Many of those patients never do become well enough to return home. For many, their health declines and dementia develops or worsens.

Nursing homes are packed with elderly people, many of whom have some degree of dementia. Elderly people are also likely to be given a wide assortment of medications for varying ailments. They have their heart pills, their arthritis pills, their diabetes pills, their allergy pills and their depression medications. Per attorneys from Statman, Harris & Eyrich, LLC, "One person may take 10-20 different medications each day." Studies have found links between many common medications and an increased risk of Alzheimer's. A large study by the University of Washington/Group Health, published in the January, 2015 edition of JAMA Internal Medicine, reported that medications with anticholinergic effects (such as Benadryl) significantly increase the risk of developing dementia. Other common medications mentioned in the study were certain sleep aids, antidepressants, antihistamines and a popular bladder control drug.



An older person with impaired memory is particularly vulnerable to abuse. Typically, such a person may have perfect recall of long-ago events, but little memory of something that happened a short time ago. They can be ignored or mistreated and not remember that it happened. They frequently become dehydrated because they are not coaxed into drinking sufficient liquids. They lose weight from not eating. They can be physically abused and be unable to report that it happened or who did it. All of these events would increase confusion. Caretakers are able to steal money or belongings from those who are totally unable to protect themselves.

Hopefully, there are family members who see their loved one's mental and physical condition deteriorating and become concerned. One thing that should be examined closely is the list of daily medications. It's possible that changes could be made to medications with fewer side effects. Perhaps some medications could be eliminated. The patient's physical condition must be looked at. Are there unexplained bruises? The patient can be examined by a trusted physician not connected to the nursing home and transferred to a different facility. It may be time to talk to a personal injury attorney inCincinnati, OH.

Statman, Harris & Eyrich, LLC offers a wide range of legal services, but one of their areas of focus is elder abuse. The attorneys understand the complexity of these cases, and are tenacious when defending the rights of vulnerable older people. Visit their website at http://www.statmanharris.com to learn more about how Statman, Harris & Eyrich, LLC could assist during this difficult time.