The Office of the Attorney General in Michigan has identified four categories that criminal abuse and neglect generally fall into:

1.  Harmful Neglect: A resident of a nursing home or residential health care facility may be suffering from harmful neglect if they experience:

• Suspicious or questionable injuries or death;
• Unexplained substantial weight loss or severe dehydration;
• Painful bedsores 

2.  Assault or battery is committed if an employee of a nursing home or residential care facility threatens or strikes a resident or uses unauthorized physical or chemical restraints

3.  Criminal sexual conduct occurs when an employee of a residential healthcare facility or nursing home engages in unlawful sexual conduct with a patient.

4.  Embezzlement or theft of a resident’s funds occurs when a nursing home or residential health care facility employee wrongfully removes funds from a resident’s account, improperly obtains a financial “loan” or “gift” from a resident, or uses personal information illegally to obtain credit cards, etc., resulting in identity theft.

Next week: Which facilities are subject
to investigation & ways to protect your
loved ones from abuse & neglect.