Elder Abuse: We Can't Afford to Ignore It

I've heard it said that you can tell a lot about the values of a culture by the way it treats its children and elderly.  I'm afraid that we're not doing well on either front.  Recently, I went to help my friend Linda with her new laptop.  While I was there, she told me that she was caring for her 91 year old mother, Helen.  Linda took me in to say "hi" to Helen.  Suffering from Alzheimers disease, Helen had no clue who I was.  Later during my visit, Linda told me how she came to care for Helen.

A year before, Helen was living in a nursing home until a Nurses Aid punched Helen in the side of the face.  Helen's face swole up to twice it's normal size.  I asked Linda whether she pressed charges against the Aid.  Linda told me that despite attempts to press charges, the Sheriff's office had no interest in prosecuting this worman.  So the worst thing that happened to her was that she lost her job.  I shuddered at the thought this Aid might be enboldened to do this again at another establishment.  Nurses Aids are licensed in most states.  I wondered if anyone had bothered to report her to the state licensing board to prevent her from getting anywhere near another elderly person.  Sadly I have no confidence that in this case, even this minimal act was performed by anyone to prevent future abuse.  I was appalled at the Sheriff's office for not making this woman serve even 6 months for hurting my friend's mother. The scary thing is that according to the Department of Labor, home health aids and nurses aids will be in high demand through 2016 due to the increasing number of elders in our population.

Elder abuse is a uniquely complex and varied issue because it can impact multiple aspects of an elder's life.  Abuse comes in many forms: financial, medical, sexual, Medicaid fraud, physical violence and verbal abuse. The non-profit "Helpguide.org" has a great overview of the different types of abuse that occur. The courts deal with issues of abuse in civil and criminal courts with varying outcomes.  In cases of financial fraud and theft of real or personal property, a court might order perpetrators to restore the elder's property or levy a financial judgement against the abuser.  Some states have specific laws criminalizing elder abuse, but more often than not crimes of assault or physical violence against elders are prosecuted with no reference to that the case involved elder abuse.  This failure to identify cases as elder abuse has made it difficult for lawyers who want to pursue elder abuse claims to gain insight into how a court might handle their cases.  Law enforcement doesn't like to prosecute these claims because the mental capacity of the elder is in question or the elder doesn't want to press charges because the abuser is a family member who they depend on for care.  Often the abuse happens at home with no witnesses.  One of the tasks of non-profits and state officials is to educate family members and neighbors on the signs of abuse.  Each state has its own Department of Aging who has investigators who investigate nursing home abuse.  Each state's attorney general has a Medicaid Fraud unit that will investigate and prosecute cases of fraud.  The tricky part is when the abuse happens in the elder's home and local law enforcement has to investigate.  They must be better trained to identify and understand the unique circumstances surrounding elder abuse cases. The organization, "The National Association of Triads" attempts to form partnerships between law enforcement and social service agencies to provide training about how to better handle elder abuse cases.