Tag Archive for: #elderabuse

TownTalk: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Is June 15

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State law requires that residents report suspected cases of elder abuse to the local Department of Social Services. But what, exactly, constitutes elder abuse? Learn more about this subject on June 15 at the Vance County Senior Center.

The Kerr-Tar Council of Government’s Agency on Aging is hosting an event to mark Elder Abuse Awareness Day from 9 a.m. to noon. The morning will be filled with resources from more than a dozen vendors from the five-county area that KTCOG serves, with activities designed for older adults and others interested in learning more.

The first 200 participants will get a t-shirt and a box lunch, compliments of two area long-term care facilities, and there will be goodie bags and various presentations during the morning designed to increase awareness of elder abuse. Aim High, a local health and wellness center, will discuss ways for older adults to remain active.

KTCOG Regional Ombudsman Kim Hawkins spoke with John C. Rose on Wednesday’s TownTalk and explained more about signs of elder abuse and the process that DSS representatives and others take to help keep disabled adults safe.

Mistreating older adults, no matter the form it takes, is not only wrong, it’s a crime.

A report may be made anonymously, Hawkins said. Once a report is received, the local DSS adult services unit will assess the information to determine whether the individual is in need of protection.

“It’s an intensive intake process,” she said, but the end result is to make sure that the report meets the criteria to be investigated. A team discusses the information and then, when warranted, makes contact with the individual to offer services.

As an ombudsman, Hawkins said she tries to encourages individuals to consent to services, or to get someone they feel comfortable talking with to relay the information to DSS on their behalf.

She said residents report incidents, but also medical professionals, outreach workers and others also have reported suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a disabled adult.

“We go out and monitor the facilities and visit,” Hawkins said, adding that she has received calls from individuals who wish to remain anonymous about paying a visit to a facility.

“Residents have called and asked to come visit,” she said, and she will inform DSS officials when she gets calls from those who don’t want to give their name.

It’s not necessary to contact the ombudsman to report suspected abuse situations, Hawkins said. “You can bypass the ombudsman process and call DSS directly,” she explained. “It’s more important…that it gets reported and reviewed,” she added.

People want to help, but often don’t want to get involved, Hawkins said. In some situations, the suspected abuser may be another family member, which makes the anonymous reporting important to avoid undue stress.

Although difficult to prove, mental or psychological abuse is perhaps most often reported. Hawkins said when she is investigating such cases, she and Adult Protective Services representatives look for how the individual’s reactions. One resident of a long-term care facility suffered anxiety attacks requiring hospitalization following verbal abuse from a facility administrator, she said.

Often, the mental or psychological abuse eventually will manifest in physical ways, validating the charge of abuse. By the way, Hawkins said the administrator was ultimately fired from the facility in that particular case.

Hawkins estimates that cases of elder abuse are under-reported, and added that in addition to reporting cases, it is important to educate others about elder abuse.

“Education is one of the biggest ways to prevent elder abuse,” she said. Empowering disabled adults through awareness and education is important.

Hawkins said she is planning a virtual meeting on the Zoom platform on June 9  that will be geared to residents of long-term care facilities, but it is open to others who may have family members or loved ones in a long-term care facility.

Please call the KTCOG at 252.436.2040 for details about how to join the virtual meeting, which should last 30-45 minutes.

Following is the list of phone numbers for the departments of social services in the five-county region served by KTCOG:

 

Vance: 252.492.5001

Granville: 919.693.1511

Warren: 252.257.5000

Franklin: 919.496.5721

Person: 336.599.8361

 

Following is a list of the eight most common forms of elder abuse, according to the website www.worldelderabuseawareness.com

  • Self-Neglect – Refusal or failure to provide himself/herself with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medication (when indicated), and safety precaution.
  • Physical Abuse– The use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment; or any physical injury to an adult caused by other than accidental means.
  • Neglect by Others– Failure to provide the basic care, or services necessary to maintain the health and safety of an adult: this failure can be active or passive.
  • Sexual Abuse– Sexual contact with a non-consenting adult or with an adult considered incapable of consenting to a sexual act.
  • Financial Abuse– The illegal or unethical exploitation and/or use of an elder’s funds, property, or other assets.
  • Mental Abuse– Verbal or emotional abuse includes threatening significant physical harm or threatening or causing significant emotional harm to an adult through the use of: Derogatory or inappropriate names, insults, verbal assaults, profanity, or ridicule; or harassment, coercion, threats, intimidation, humiliation, mental cruelty, or inappropriate sexual comments.
  • Abandonment – the desertion or willful forsaking by anyone having responsibility for care.
  • Isolation– Preventing the individual from receiving mail, telephone calls, or visitors.

The website also lists some of the signs that could indicate an individual may be experiencing some type of elder abuse:

  • Lack of basic amenities
  • Cluttered, filthy living environment
  • Unexplained or uncharacteristic changes in behavior
  • Unexplained sexually transmitted diseases
  • Unpaid bills, new credit cards and/or increased cash withdrawals
  • Harassment, coercion, intimidation, humiliation
  • Caregiver isolates elder

Learn more about elder abuse awareness at https://worldelderabuseawareness.com/

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TownTalk: Elder Abuse Awareness

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Keeping Older Adults Safe, Protected –

Whether it’s unintentional or purposeful, mistreatment of older adults is serious business. It’s called elder abuse and two local experts discussed the topic with John C. Rose on Thursday’s Town Talk.

Elder Abuse Awareness month is observed, appropriately enough, between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in North Carolina; World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15. In her job as long-term care ombudsman with Kerr-Tar Area Agency on Aging, Kimberly Hawkins monitors nursing homes and long-term care facilities to make sure residents’ rights are being respected. Most often, she said, residents are satisfied with the care they receive. But when a resident has a complaint, Hawkins said, it is her job “to find out what they want me to do with that information.”

In her role as advocate, Hawkins said, she sometimes needs to refer a complaint to the Department of Social Services. Deloris Cooke works in Granville County’s DSS adult protective services division. Cooke said she fields referrals from folks like Hawkins and from the community at-large.

Such a referral can come from anywhere in community, Cooke said. “Anyone has the right to call in and share any type of concern for an elderly person” – anyone over the age of 18, actually, who is disabled. It’s up to DSS personnel to determine if an allegation meets the criteria to be evaluated.

Even if a case of abuse, exploitation, neglect or self-neglect is not substantiated, Cooke said a visit to the home is in order to make sure the adult is ok. Such a “self-report” visit is one way to make sure that individuals and families know about resources that can help.

Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elderly person is something that she works to prevent. Through the evaluation, she can “determine what is the situation, what has caused this and how we can resolve it,” Cooke said.

Sometimes an older person living alone can’t get to the pharmacy to pick up medications or prepare meals – that’s self-neglect.

An example of caretaker neglect could be a care recipient being left alone while the family member providing care is at work; and then there are the scammers, who prey on vulnerable older adults to cheat them out of money.

Cooke said the APS reports can be made anonymously; “we cannot and will not divulge (the name of the reporter) unless it is court-ordered,” she said. So often, the reports come from individuals who care about the well-being of the older adult. DSS has up to 45 days to complete its evaluation of the situation, and they provide the reporter with basic findings once the investigation is complete.

“Our primary job is to make sure the adult is safe,” Cooke said. Often, providing resources and putting a plan in place to keep the adult safe, is sufficient. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to file a petition to the court to have the person removed.

Hawkins said she works with a different complaint process, and sometimes she must refer a long-term care facility complaint to DSS. And, of course, she informs the facility that a complaint has been lodged. But with nursing homes, she sends referrals to the state’s department of health and human resources – with the consent of the resident or that person’s legal guardian.

“Most of the time, it’s a lack of communication,” Hawkins said of complaints she receives. High staff turnover could contribute to complaints, as well as staff that feel overworked and overwhelmed.

“We offer trainings to facilities on resident rights and appropriate actions,” Hawkins said. “Getting new information helps a lot.” She also does activities with residents – like a residents’ rights BINGO game – to raise awareness.

Events in the five-county region are having events in the next couple of weeks to observe elder abuse awareness; contact your county’s Senior Center to learn details. In Vance County, Hawkins and colleague Austin Caton will present a program on family caregiver support at the Vance County Senior Center on June 17; other counties will have contactless, drive-through events to share information about elder abuse awareness.

To learn more, contact Hawkins at 252.436.2050 or toll-free at 866.506.6223; contact Cooke at 919.693.1511.

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Granville County Logo

Granville Co. Senior Centers to Host Talks on Elder Abuse

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-Information courtesy the Granville County Government Facebook page

One in every ten older adults experiences abuse. Elder abuse is not just physical abuse – it can also be financial or verbal.

Madeline Masters, Attorney with NC Legal Aide, will present a program at two of Granville County’s Senior Centers to talk about signs of elder abuse. Learn more about the scams that target seniors, what you can do for protection, who to call if abuse is suspected, resources available for victims and how to stop abuse in the community.

The program at the Granville County Senior Center in Oxford will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 13; the program at the South Granville Senior Center in Creedmoor will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 22.

The public is invited to attend.