An article appearing in today’s Oregonian prompted me to write a short post about elder abuse. The article is titled “Pair plead guilty to identity theft“. It’s a story about two would-be-caregivers that charged up a time share, a boat, and two vehicles on an unsuspecting 84 year old’s bank accounts (unauthorized, of course). The story is buried in the “Community New” section in a small column called In the Courts. Though the column is small, the problem of elder abuse is a big one. A clicked the tag “elder abuse” on Oregon Live (the online version of The Oregonian) and it showed 14 headlines — including the below…
- “Forest Grove man gets 5 years probation for elder fraud”
- “Forest Grove police seek suspect in elder abuse case”
- “Family friend accused of stealing $83,000 from elderly Milwaukie man”
- “Portland man accused of pocketing his elderly mother’s assets and fraudulently applying for Medicaid”
- “Portland man accused of tapping 99-year-old grandmother’s ATM for more than $40,000″
And the list goes on… here’s a link to these elder abuse headlines (if you want to read on and raise your blood pressure). Keep in mind, I only searched one “tag” in our local community here in the Portland, Oregon area. It also goes without saying (although I’m saying it) that elder abuse is highly under reported, (as are all other forms of abuse). Only 1 in 14 incidents come to the attention of authorities according to survey results published in The Gerontologist, (1998 28:51-57). Does this scare you as much as it scares me?
The National Center on Elder Abuse cites a Wash. DC National Research Council Panel study that estimates “between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection. Definitions of “Elder Abuse” vary, but I found one I agree with on Medline Plus. Medline Plus is the National Institutes of Health’s website for patients, families and friends. They define Elder Abuse as follows:
“Elder abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to an elderly person or puts a helpless older person at risk of harm. This includes:
- -Physical, sexual and emotional abuse
- -Neglecting or deserting an older person you are responsible for
- -Taking or misusing an elderly person’s money or property”
So what can you do to make sure you’re loved one isn’t taken advantage of, or worse yet, abused?
- Make sure that there are multiple layers of trusted individuals communicating, and checking-in with your loved one often (family, friends, neighbors, and elderare professionals).
- Make sure caregivers have UP TO DATE criminal background checks documented, and ask to speak to references
- Make sure there are at least 2 trusted sources tracking “the money”. There must be “checks and balances” with regard to finances for anyone… this is especially true for elderly individuals. A conservator/guardian may be able to help manage the finances.
You’ll find a host of resources and links at Medline Plus. So I encourage you to bookmark the site (especially if you’re a caregiver, family member or eldercare professional). Another great resource, as mentioned above, is the National Center on Elder Abuse (Administration on Aging).
Chris Clark, Co-Founder, The Senior List.com
