IA: Legisltors Will Review State Laws on Elder Care

Jennifer Berg was no longer allowed to push her 76-year-old mother's wheelchair into the sunshine outside the nursing home, take photographs of her, or be alone behind a closed door.

Those were among the changes that occurred after the state took authority over the elderly woman's care.

Berg told two state lawmakers Thursday how her life and her mother's life had changed for the worse after officials of Iowa's Department of Human Services decided the elderly woman was not being supervised well enough at home. The department obtained a court order that prevents relatives from making any decisions regarding her housing, health care or finances.

"There was no allegation of abuse against me, and yet I was not allowed to do anything," Berg said during a meeting at the Iowa Capitol. "We were treated as if we were abusers."

After getting complaints from 13 families about how their elderly loved ones' care had spiraled out of their control once the DHS stepped in, two lawmakers said Thursday that they would press for changes in Iowa law.

"You have a problem. I think the department is broken. It needs to be fixed," Sen. Dennis Black, D-Grinnell, told top DHS officials Thursday.

Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, tempered those comments by saying he believed DHS employees had made thousands of good decisions for thousands of elderly Iowans.

But Hatch agreed that more needed to be done to ensure families get the best possible services and to reduce conflict with authorities. "I'm taking this as an opportunity for us to learn and to strengthen the system," he said.

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Iowa Legislators Will Review State Laws on Elder Care