PERSUASIVE SPEECH OUTLINE Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience about elderly abuse and neglect in nursing homes INTRODUCTION- Today I am here to talk to you all about a problem that is sweeping the nation. 1. Attention-Getter: a. 500,000 to 1,000,000 cases of Elderly abuse or neglect are recorded every year by authorities. Most of them are true, but the saddest thing is for every one of those cases there are between 12 and 15 cases that are not reported to proper authorities. (Video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgl8MkjHcPk 2. Bond: Link-to Audience: a. I recently had the misfortune of having to put my grandparents into a nursing home, or assisted living facility and have already had an issue with the facility. My grandmother was recently rushed to the hospital from the nursing home. They said it could have possibly been a “ med error” meaning they gave her the wrong medication causing her sugar to drop severely resulting in her collapsing in a type of seizure. 3. "Credentials" of Speaker (Credibility): a. I have done much research on this topic before I had to move my grandparents into their facility. 4. Destination / Objective Sentence: a. I have decided to talk to you all about Nursing home neglect and abuse because I want to make you aware of the dangers in nursing homes. My goal in this speech is to help spread the word about this disgraceful behavior. I hope that after my presentation you will possibly help me spread the word about nursing home abuse and neglect. b. Today I want to make you realize that nursing homes are an industry nothing more and nothing less. 5. Explain your Map to your Destination: Speech Preview: a. Today I plan to explain 1. Types of Elderly Abuse 2. Statistics behind Nursing Home Abuse 3. Nursing Homes are an Industry 4. What needs to be done. B. BODY of your Speech “Tell them” 1. Main Point #1 a. First to define elderly abuse and its different forms. 1. Physical Abuse 2. Emotional Abuse 3. Sexual Abuse 4. Neglect 5. Financial Exploitation 6. Health care fraud Transition: Next I want to discuss with you the information gathered for the year 2009. 2. Main Point #2 1. Some of the frightening statistics behind nursing home abuse or neglect are. a. 2.6 million people live in either short term nursing homes or longer term assisted living facilities. b. 44 percent of nursing home residents have suffered from some type of abuse. c. 48 percent reported having been treated or handled roughly. d. 38 percent reported having witnessed the abuse of others. e. 81 percent report having seen some form of verbal, physical, or other form of abuse last year f. 66 percent of nursing home residents suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive problems which limits their ability be aware that abuse is occurring. g. 85% of the staff of these nursing homes blame the abuse on insufficient staff and staff shortages. h. Only approximately 20% of all cases of abuse are reported. The reasons they are not reported are either because those being abused are too cognitively impaired to remember enough to report it, or they are afraid of further abuse and not being believed. Transition: Next I want to say how nursing homes and assisted living facilities are nothing more than an industry. 3. Main Point #3 1. What I mean when I say these places are an industry is they are around to make money granted there are some places that do care about the well being of their residence. 2.They care for our elderly, my grandparents and possibly your loved ones at the lowest cost possible. Meaning: a. Minimal qualifications b. Inadequate staff c. Low wages 4. Main Point #4 1. From an official “Report to Congressional Requesters” Ensure that state survey agencies immediately notify local law enforcement agencies or MFCUs when nursing homes report allegations of resident physical or sexual abuse or when the survey agency has confirmed complaints of alleged abuse. • Accelerate the agency’s education campaign on reporting nursing home abuse by (1) distributing its new poster with clearly displayed complaint telephone numbers and (2) requiring state survey agencies to ensure that these numbers are prominently listed in local telephone directories. • Systematically assess state policies and practices for complying with the federal requirement to prohibit employment of individuals convicted of abusing nursing home residents and, if necessary, develop more specific guidance to ensure compliance. • Clarify the definition of abuse and otherwise ensure that states apply that definition consistently and appropriately. • Shorten the state survey agencies’ time frames for determining whether to include findings of abuse in nurse aide registry files. I believe all nursing homes should have heightened security, possibly noninvasive cameras in individual rooms, or an easily accessible panic button in each room as well as throughout the facility directing the tenants to the emergency services as well as nurses in the facility. C. CONCLUSION 1. After I have discussed with you What Elderly Abuse is, the Statistics behind Nursing Home Abuse, how Nursing Homes are an Industry, and What needs to be done. I hope I have opened your eyes to just how serious the problem of Nursing home abuse and neglect is. 2. Call-to-Action: I urge all of you to take a harder look at just what is happening behind closed doors in these so called “assisted” living facilities. It could be one of your loved ones like it was mine, or someday in the future it could be anyone of us. So, let us do something to stop it now before the problem gets out of hand, and before more innocent people who can’t defend themselves have to suffer this could be one of your loved ones. Sources : GAO. "United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Requesters." Nursing Homes. GAO, Feb. 2002. Web. 26 Mar. 2010. <http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02279.pdf>. Belmonte, Joelle. Elder Abuse and Neglect. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. <http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_ neglect.htm>. "Nursing Home Abuse Statistics." Articlesbase.com. ArticlesBase SC #801584, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2010. <http://www.articlesbase.com/health-and-safety-articles/ nursing-home-abuse-statistics-801584.html>.
