The state of Florida has a long history of placing mentally and physically disabled children in nursing homes, a practice the Department of Justice has tried for years to stop. On Monday, July 22nd, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida alleging many of the state’s 200 children currently living in adult care facilities have suffered nursing home abuse and neglect. The DOJ believes these children would be better served living in a non-institutional setting, closer to family and friends.
A March investigation of children living in nursing homes by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (FAHCA) found that a shocking majority of pediatric residents of adult homes were neglected for extended periods of time. The FHACA’s report cited several examples including one in which a boy in a wheelchair asking for help from his room was wheeled into an adjacent room with unsupervised babies and toddlers whose only form of stimulation came from nursery rhymes being played on a stereo.
If You Suspect Abuse or Neglect
The treatment of these children in Florida’s nursing homes is tragic indeed, made more so by the fact that abuse and neglect are the daily reality of hundreds of thousands of nursing home residents. If you suspect mistreatment of a loved one, you need an experienced nursing home lawyer on your side as soon as possible to help protect your loved one and see that justice is served.
If you suspect nursing home abuse or neglect, please contact a dedicated nursing home negligence attorney in your area for a free case evaluation.
