Attorney Handling Cases Involving Home Health Care Neglect
For some, nursing homes aren’t an option. My parents are against nursing homes. They’ve asked me to help them stay in their homes as they age. This means that they will need the help of home health aides. I, like many families, will have to trust that home health care neglect won’t happen. And that the home health aides that I hire, will take care of my aging parents.
Some of these aides may abuse their clients. They may say they are doing their job, but they are neglecting their patients. This neglectful behavior can seriously injure loved ones. Just as in a nursing home, we rely on home health aides to care for the elderly. Many abuse or neglect them instead.
Home Health Agencies Should Provide Competent Home Health Aides
Employment of home health aides should grow 38% from 2014 to 2024. This is faster than other jobs. As the baby-boom population ages and the elderly population grows, demand for the services of home health aides will increase.
Many of us will go through agencies to find home health aides. We will search out home health agencies that we think are good. We expect that these agencies are providing us with aides who are trained and know how to do their jobs. Many agencies send aides who don’t know what they are doing. Or they send aides who are overworked. With untrained and overworked aides, elderly patients can get hurt.
Home health aide neglect can include:
- Injuries caused by home health aide abuse
- Theft of property
- Theft of money
- Sexual abuse
- Failure to give medications
- Giving the wrong medications
- Not watching the patient allowing them to fall or wander off
Home health care providers are accountable to the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS). They are supposed to conduct background checks on their employees. They are also supposed to give them the proper training. Many home health care agencies don’t do either of these things.
A 2012 study found that less than a third of home-care agencies screened their employees for illegal drug use. Just 16% tested for basic knowledge about providing home health care. This type of reckless behavior cannot be tolerated.
Many Elderly Experience Abuse
Nearly 10 million adults age 65 and older receive care at home care. That number is projected to skyrocket as the 65-plus population increases to over 70 million in 2030.
Research suggests that 1 in 10 Americans 60 and over have experienced some form of elder abuse. Even as prosecutors around the country target elder abuse, many cases aren’t. Some older adults fear that if they complain, they will end up in a nursing home. We must stand up for these abused patients.
Contact a Houston Home Health Care Neglect Attorney for Help
If your loved one was injured by a home health aide, contact Chelsie King Garza today. Ms. Garza offers free consultations to discuss your rights and the rights of your loved one. Home health agencies cannot be allowed to send untrained workers to care for our relatives. These agencies must be held accountable for the neglect of their employees.
