Taking belongings away violation of resident rights

An incident that I became aware of recently where caregivers had decided to remove a resident's belongings because he would make a mess of his room was disturbing. To take and with hold a person's belongings is a violation of their right to property. The caregivers needed to explore options that protected and ensured the resident's rights. Options possible could have included increased supervision, providing activities that interested the client, request a family member to visit during that particular time or exploration of why the resident was agitated and remove the cause. Did the agitation occur frequently or at the same time during the day or night? Did the resident need to be toileted, was the resident in pain, did the resident have gastric upset or was ill or possibly hunger? Putting residents in front of a television without monitoring what is being viewed could possibly be the problem. Residents with dementia lose the ability to process stimuli in the same manner that individuals who do not have dementia. Providing care to individuals with dementia is challenging because often they are unable to verbalize what is bothering them. Providing a safe environment with a high quality of life requires all the skills of observation, reasoning and critical thinking of the caregivers.

Complaint Resolution Unit

A reader wrote she had recently lost her mother and felt it was directly related to being neglected by the facility in which her mother was living. For the State of Washington there is the Complaint Resolution Unit (CRU) hotline number which is 1-800-562-6078. If you observe, or are treated in an abusive manner in a Nursing Home, Assisted Living Center or Adult Family Home call the hotline. This unit deals with abuse of vulnerable adults living in Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Centers, Boarding Homes, Alzheimer's units and Adult Family Homes.

For individuals living in their own home that experience abuse or observe someone being abused the number to call is the Adult Protective agency for your area. To report child abuse call the child protective services for your area.

I've added the CRU number underneath the title of the blog for easy reference.

My condolences to the lady and her family that recently loss their beloved mother. I lost my older brother to pneumonia January 31, 2009. This is a tough time for many.