In January of 1956, Elvis Presley recorded “Heartbreak Hotel” at the RCA Studio B in Nashville. A couple of weeks later, he sang it on national television for the first time. (The rest, as they say, is history.) By the time he gets to the chorus – “I’ll be so lonely, baby/ Well, I’m so lonely/ I’ll be so lonely, I could die” – his voice has dropped into a near-whisper. You can hear the desperation. Without you, he might very well die of loneliness.
Elvis isn’t the only one. At the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Brigham Young University professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad presented findings that “loneliness could pose an even greater threat to public health than obesity, and other research has found it even rivals the risks of smoking,” as reported by Business Insider. (You can read Holt-Lunstad’s paper in its entirety here.)
The group most at risk of social isolation – of dying of loneliness – and people ages 45 and older. The AARP reports that “Census data show that more than one-quarter of U.S. households consist of one person, as marriage rates fall and the number of children per household declines.” In a 2010 survey, they reported that just over one-third of the people they surveyed described themselves as lonely, and that loneliness had a significant role to play in the respondents’ health.
Senior isolation and loneliness at Tennessee nursing homes
If you have an elderly parent or loved one in a nursing home, you might feel as though he or she is safe from this phenomenon. After all, there are other residents in the facility, as well as caretakers, doctors, nurses and staff. The truth is, loneliness can occur in residential facilities are well, for a number of reasons. After all, “Two-thirds of the older adults in
Elderly nursing home residents – many of whom are transported from a life they’ve known and lived for decades, into a strange environment with strange people – can feel this effect, too. It can take time to build up the meaningful relationships that keep us from being experiencing feelings of isolation, and being transplanted into a situation where residents may have already formed these bonds with one another can be a challenge for some seniors. For those with dementia, or conditions like Alzheimer’s, it can be even more difficult.
Isolation as a form of abuse
While loneliness may affect us all at some point, there are nursing homes and facilities out there which exacerbate these feelings through their use of restraints (chemical or physical) and isolation for “problem” residents – often those with severe disabilities, or mental and/or physical impairments. If your parent or loved one has a medical condition which cause him or her to behave in ways that are less-than-harmonious with other residents, or if he or she requires specialized care or services, he or she may be at additional risk of abuse or neglect. Some of the more common forms of this abuse include:
- Isolating seniors in their rooms
- Keeping them physically restrained in their rooms
- Keeping them chemically restrained through the use or unwarranted sedatives
- Ignoring residents’ needs or requests
- Failing to maintain proper hygiene procedures
- Leaving residents out of group activities
- Refusing or restricting “privileges,” such as time spent outdoors, phone calls or visits
- Threatening seniors if they refuse to comply with staff demands or requests
Most cases of nursing home neglect in Tennessee are not intentional; many facilities simply lack the funds or staffing required to protect their residents fully. But there are cases where keeping a resident in physical isolation – or threatening to harm a resident if he or she does not behave in a certain way – can constitute abuse. Whether the neglect was intentional or not, your loved one does have rights. Our team can help uphold them.
Delius & McKenzie, PLLC provides comprehensive counsel and aggressive representation on behalf of clients in Tennessee. If your loved one has been neglected or abused at a Tennessee nursing home, we can help. Please call (865) 428-8780 or complete this contact form. We help nursing home residents in Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Seymour, Pigeon Forge, and the nearby regions.
Attorney Bryan E. Delius was born and raised in Sevier County, TN. He founded Delius & McKenzie more than 20 years ago, after receiving his JD from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He is admitted in Tennessee and in several federal court systems. Learn more about Bryan E. Delius.
