I know this show aired a few weeks ago; I just had to say thank you Dr. Phil for doing a show on elder abuse. It seems this abuse is not spoken of often. My mom suffered elder abuse at what was supposed to be a great facility; everything looked good from the outside. My mom had a brain tumor, but she still new how she was being treated and what she was saying...Please BELIEVE your loved one if they tell you they are being abused or mistreated.....AND because you visit often means NOTHING, her's happened mainly in the late night hows, when she interrupted the nurses pizza and big screen tv time.

My mom would tell me things, finally I left a audio recorder in her room, no one should ever hear what I heard on those tapes. I left my job to help take care of her, I have never returned and it's been over 4 years, I have to make myself leave the house. I can still hear her cries on the tapes.

Thank you Dr. Phil

Seems to me after personal experience with my alcoholic father and watching Dr Phil for many years that drug addicts steal from everyone around and lie. So where did he get the money he used to support his addiction?

If they abused her as a kid then they deserve everything happening to them now (I wish I could have got some money off my father who ran off with another woman and left 3 kids with a mother who worked 14hrs a day to support us). Then when he was dying he expected one of us to donate a kidney to him- I laughed (my kidneys are for my kids or my mother if they need one). My sister went to visit him when he was dying and his girlfriend and her kids all ganged up on her making comments like, "Gee it's funny how people come to visit you for money"...guess he never came to visit us since we had no money...you reap what you sow and he sowed nothing. None of us asked for any money, but that's obviously all they thought about.

My sister was in a Nursing Home for about 8 years before she passed away, she was in her 50's.  They do have "check ups" and are rated.  But this certain home was notified before they came.  They would know the day of the visit and of course made sure that everything and everyone was prepared.  Cleaned, more help at that time, etc.  This is in Nebraska, I wonder how many other "homes" get the same notification???  This HAS to stop!!!!

Thank you Dr Phil for finally doing a show on the problem of Elder Abuse in America.  I wonder though, just how many (other then those who have gone through the horror of it) actually understand the magnitude of the problem.  As Mr Wes Bledsoe said, "Over 100,000 nursing home residents die from abuse and negligent care each year. It is likely; over 5 million cases of abuse or neglect go unreported annually. " 

There are so many places that the blame can be put.........but the fact of the matter is this:  The system is completely and totally broken.  Nursing Home care bottom line is not about the care and comfort of the resident.   Sadly, it's bottom line is dollars and cents.  There is a reason that it is now called the Nursing Home Industry.  Don't get me wrong...there is NOTHING wrong with wanting to make a living; but it's now being done at the expense of the elderly in their lack of care.  To make more money, cut staff.  To make more money cut on food costs.  To make more money cut............  .  We all think that when a cut is made, the people that take the hit are the workers.  I want you to remember, that while workers DO indeed take a hit, the direct target and those that take the direct hit in the name of making more money are the residents.  

Did you know that until 2008 there were absolutely NO laws protecting the elderly in the state of Minnesota?  Merely a statute that made it a gross misdemeanor.  Did you know that a nursing home corporation that claims to be non-profit will hold it's 10's of millions of dollars in offshore accounts?  Did you know that with that money legislation can be BULLDOZED through to prevent families from suing nursing homes who have abused their residents in less then 6 months, when it takes the rest of us 20 years to get laws passed to PROTECT the elderly?  As Americans we have far better legislation against animal abuse then we do against elder abuse.

We are sorely lacking in the realm of Elder Care, and we must make changes now.  Legislation that protects the Elderly MUST be put into place, not only on a state level but on the National level.  Laws demanding precautionary measures such as cameras in nursing homes and in residents rooms must be made!  We put cameras EVERYWHERE, but in the place where the most vulnerable live.  Until corporate heads decide that the elderly are human beings with bodys and souls, and not merely a means to make more money, WE must take action in our state and national capitals.

We need education.  Education for law enforcement on how to investigate the crime and how to interview those who seem to "not have their minds".  We need education for Legislators and the Judicial system so that they will understand the gravity of this immediate and ongoing danger.  We need education for Doctors, nurses, and nursing assistants so that they are better equipped to work with the vulnerable elderly.  We need education for administration and office workers so that they understand that while making money IS important, it is not the most important thing, the elderly are the most important.  Education to be a CNA should be MONTHS long, not weeks.  People who work in nursing homes need to know physiology, psychology, anatomy, nutrition, chemistry and basic nursing.  We should be educating our workers and paying them for what they are.........an extention of the medical profession. 

We exalt those workers who truly love their work and have a deep and true desire to make another human beings life better in their last years, months, weeks and days.  We desperately need them!

In the 1 hour presentation that I give to each CNA class in the 3 college campuses in my area, I ask them to search their hearts and find WHY they want this job.  If this job is not truly their Calling, then they need to find another job; this one is not for them.  I wish that I could do more, but the classes only allow so much time and much must be learned in that time. 

How do I know these things?  Mom was one of 15 PROVABLE victims of Elder Abuse in a nursing home, who suffered from Alzheimer's in 2008.  I have spent the last 4 years and 9 months working, writing publicly speaking at schools, conventions and anywhere they will listen, all the while hoping and praying that what little I do can somehow helps those that need it the most.   

We must continue working for this cause because as I tell my students........"Once upon a time, all your residents were you.  And given enough time.........You..........will all become them."         

AMEN!!! Drug abuse is also very real in nursing homes and you are correct about reporting violations- it's a joke! But only the ones profiting are laughing.


Maybe we should all connect and turn Minnesota, Oklahoma AND NEBRASKA around! 


Keep up the good fight.

I found this episode on abuse of the elderly interesting yet incomplete. Yes, physical abuse and neglect is horrible. No doubt. But what wasn't talked about was the issue of drug abuse within facilities of so-called "care". I know this issue from a first-hand basis. I was placed in a nursing facility at an early age due to a disability. This "care" facility, and I do use the word care very loosely, administered narcotic drugs in liquid and pill form without my doctor's consent, or mine. I had delusions, hallucinations and came very close to a psychotic break. Lies about my character and reputation ensued and I have done everything I possibly can to shine a light on this problem facility. I was informed by state auditors and surveyors that the problem was solved. They did not say that I wasn't intentionally drugged (trying for death) though they wouldn't use the exact words that I was, the state board to which all concerns, problems and issues are directed said the problem was solved because "there hasn't been another case of its kind since"! There could be no dumber statement made in the world!! Since I lived to tell the story AND SINCE NO ONE ELSE HAS COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SAME THING HAPPENING TO THEM, THE PROBLEM WAS "CORRECTED AND FIXED" by the facility!!! If that isn't the stupidest thing I could have heard? I have tried taking this above the complaint line to our attorney general having proof of fraud from other residents to be handed off to Medicare who doesn't care because the dollar amount in question is not enough. I personally would love to have the thousands ($) in question as I know I could live on it quite comfortably probably for the rest of my life. Being on disability, I am not able financially to hire an attorney practiced enough to take on this case and win. I am scared about the health care reform this country is taking and feel like for the first time (maybe out of being naive and a little stupid) that this very country is a country that performs and allows genocide to take place. It is government sanctioned, financed and supported by law makers and presidents on both sides of the aisle. I lived through my horror of abuse at a facility only to be forced to live with a former abuser of a different kind. But many residents of this same facility have not been so lucky...? I may die at the hand of my abuser or I may have to make a choice but one thing that will NEVER be a choice is going into another facility. Since getting out I have found none that I don't find suspect- probably unjustly but not to trust again. The people I feel most sorry for are those who have no one watching out for them. God help them all! Drug abuse in care facilities happen more then anyone would like to think about. This part of the issue still needs to be brought to light and I will pray that Dr. Phil re-visits this issue.

I agree 100% with Mr. Bledsoe, you can not go by the star rating system in choosing a nursing home. Who is grading these places?!?!? My 84 year old mother was in 3 different nursing homes in Oklahoma in 2011, the first two homes for physical therapy after a broken ankle, the third home for physical therapy after a partial leg amputation. In the first home she was dropped by someone who was not supposed to be lifting her by herself and got a gash in her leg that required 17 stitches, the owner put her in another nursing home he owned and worse things happened here, she was sent home half dead for a lunch visit with her daughters, she could not lift her head, she could not speak, her eyes could not focus, this was for a lunch visit.  The owner tried to befriend us and offered to take us to dinner and send us on a trip. The third home was even worse and it was rated 4 stars. Who is rating these places????? Something has got to change and soon. And Mr. Bledsoe, you are so right about the guilt, it something I will carry the rest of my life.

It was very simple to see that she was lying. Her answers to simple questions from Dr. Phil were way too detailed and her body language was suspect. I have the same question as others... why go into business with parents who "horribly abused" you...and her statement about her world shifting when she found out she was adopted is a cop out of the worst kind. Excuses, excuses but no real truth in her. I hope her brother sues her and makes her accountable for the theft of the funds. Pressing charges would be an option as well. Good luck to you Mike!

First, I wish to apologize to Mattie for the injuries her mother sustained. I understand that the particular nursing home where her mother sustained said injuries was investigated and found to have some definite problems. I would like to point out a couple of things though that would cause injuries to elderly people while younger people would not be hurt by them at all. Very often the people living in care homes are nearly 100 years old. When people live that long, their bodies become very fragile. For instance, their skin is so fragile it tears from a small little bump or a little bit of friction say from rubbing with more force than needed after a bath. If they are on blood thinners, which many are, merely holding their leg up to do a treatment can leave fingerprint bruises where you held the leg. Indeed, the idea that an ID bracelet can cause a laceration is not preposterous. It is very plausible and I have seen similar things happen. They do not have fatty tissue under their skin anymore, especially in their extremities. The skin is like paper and very frequently the elderly are not adequately hydrated causing an even greater risk. Care givers are under an enormous amount of pressure to complete a certain number of specific tasks in a set amount of time. If they fail to do that they are labelled as lazy and incompetent. Thus, they are rushed when dealing with clients and that contributes to injuries such as this. They are not deliberately hurting their clients but sometimes they may grab them hastily to maybe protect the client and they get a bruise. Furthermore, some of those spots are age spots and some of the bruising happens spontaneously especially with warfarin treatment.

Furthermore, our elderly are warehoused in understaffed facilities and are taken from a whole community and then their world becomes one small room amongst a bunch of strangers. They need company. They need enrichment. They need to be entertained and occupied. So often they are combative because they feel like they are imprisoned and all they want is to go home. Their families are the link to helping them transition. They cannot just be dropped off one day and then visited once a week. They need help to understand that this is their new home. It is just as frustrating for the caregivers. We also need to provide small group therapy in nursing homes in the evening when staffing is at a minimum and the elderly patient has waited all day for something and nothing has happened. They become bored and frustrated at a time when there is just no one available to help them through it.

Society needs to assess how we value our elderly. It is just as abusive to put them in a home and walk away. I am not saying that is what Mattie did at all. I just have seen it happen all too often. We send them away hoping they'll be safe but we don't help them adjust to the most confusing move of their lives. We need to make these people a priority. We need more money from governments to demonstrate the value of these people. We need more staff to help them live their last days in peace and contentment as they should. They brought us to where we are and we need to honour them. Please let it be known that families need to stand by their loved ones. Not all bruises or lacerations indicate abuse but they need to be talked about. Help caregivers to help your loved one. That's what the majority of us want.