{"id":23254,"date":"2026-06-22T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T14:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/?p=23254"},"modified":"2026-06-19T11:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T15:03:27","slug":"elder-abuse-awareness-month-the-crisis-hiding-in-plain-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/article\/elder-abuse-awareness-month-the-crisis-hiding-in-plain-sight\/","title":{"rendered":"Elder Abuse Awareness Month: The Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">June is&nbsp;Elder&nbsp;Abuse Prevention Month. Across the country, nursing homes are closing, oversight systems are weakening, and abuse is going unreported at alarming rates. For families with loved ones in long-term care, the stakes have never been higher.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last month, the Jennie B. Richmond Nursing Home, an 80-bed facility in Springville, New York,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/spectrumlocalnews.com\/nys\/buffalo\/news\/2026\/05\/31\/jennie-b--richmond-nursing-home-to-close\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anunciado<\/a>&nbsp;its closure, citing financial challenges, staffing shortages, and the capital needs of an aging building.&nbsp;Nearly 40&nbsp;workers were notified, and residents now face the uncertainty of relocation. This is far from an isolated case. As&nbsp;facilities close, surviving homes absorb more residents with fewer resources, creating conditions where neglect and abuse are more likely to occur and go undetected.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the oversight systems meant to catch that harm are&nbsp;weakening:&nbsp;abuse agencies in some states are rejecting cases that warrant investigation, administrative safeguards have been quietly eliminated, and abuse is&nbsp;commonly&nbsp;not reported due&nbsp;to victim isolation, cognitive decline, and fear of retaliation. According to a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/elderabuse.weill.cornell.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/undertheradar051211.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York State-commissioned study<\/a>, elder mistreatment occurs&nbsp;nearly 24&nbsp;times more often than it is ever reported to social services or law enforcement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What Families Should Watch For<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The burden too often falls on family members to be the last line of defense. Warning signs that a loved one may be experiencing neglect or abuse include:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unexplained injuries, bruising, or fractures\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sudden changes in behavior, withdrawal, or fearfulness\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Declining hygiene or appearance\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unexplained weight loss or signs of dehydration\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bedsores or untreated infections that were not present before\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Staff who discourage private visits or a loved one who seems reluctant to speak freely\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Staying engaged is critical. Regular visits at varied times allow families to&nbsp;observe&nbsp;conditions that staff might otherwise conceal. You can also check a facility&#8217;s inspection history and staffing levels through&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.medicare.gov\/care-compare\/?redirect=true&amp;providerType=NursingHome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Medicare&#8217;s Care Compare tool<\/a>, which publishes detailed findings and a five-star rating&nbsp;system. A pattern of staffing-related&nbsp;citations&nbsp;or poor inspection scores should be taken seriously before placing a loved one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Napoli Shkolnik Is Here to Help<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Facilities that understaff,&nbsp;cover up&nbsp;injuries, or&nbsp;allow&nbsp;abuse must face consequences. Napoli Shkolnik&nbsp;represents&nbsp;families in nursing home abuse and neglect cases and knows how to hold facilities responsible. If you believe a loved one has been harmed,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/en\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contact us today.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>June is&nbsp;Elder&nbsp;Abuse Prevention Month. Across the country, nursing homes are closing, oversight systems are weakening, and abuse is going unreported at alarming rates. For families with loved ones in long-term&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[775],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-injury"],"acf":[],"page_builder_type":"gutenberg","gutenberg_data":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23256,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23254\/revisions\/23256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.napolilaw.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}