Nursing Home Residents at Risk from Mentally Ill March 24, 2009

A rise in the number of tragic cases of killings or serious assaults committed by the mentally ill against the elderly in nursing homes has been reported. According to MSNBC, there has been a sharp increase in young and middle age people with mental illness being housed in nursing homes. The increase is attributed to the shortage of hospital psychiatric beds and the closing of state mental institutions. The prospect of violence increases when younger, stronger adults, sometimes with schizophrenia, delusional disorders or other mental illness take out their rage on their room mates, mostly frail senior citizens unable to defend themselves. 2008 saw a 41% percent increase in the number of mentally ill people under age 64 housed in nursing homes and they now account for more than 9 percent of all nursing home residents. A 2008 incident involved a the beating of a 77 year old man with a clock radio while he lay in his bed. His roommate, almost 30 years younger with a history of aggression and “altered mental status”, was charged with the crime.

Home operators, under financial constraints to keep occupancy rates in the 90% range, increasingly look toward the mentally ill to ensure those occupancy rates. The federal government allows almost a 50/50 mix of elderly and mentally ill patients to occupy the same home while ensuring payment through Medicaid. Most nursing homes are inept at taking care of the aggressions of younger, stronger patients. “Many times, the nursing home’s only option becomes dialing 911,” said Laura Shahman, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Homies and Services for the Aging.

If you or a loved has been injured in a nursing home accident or the victim of nursing home neglect, please call Frank J. Dito, Jr.

Frank Dito is a New York Personal Injury attorney specializing in New York real estate law , New York business law, and New York franchise law. You can visit his Law Firm Decker, Decker, Dito and Internicola website by clicking here, download his FREE New York Car Insurance book, or call him at 718-979-4300 or 1-800-310-5520 for a free case analysis.

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