Council on Aging's annual Elder Abuse Summit set for June 12 in Gadsden

Staff reports - Gadsden Times

The “golden years” should be a peaceful, contented time for older Americans after they finish raising their families and retire from their working careers.

Way too often, that's not the case.

According to the National Council on Aging, roughly one in 10 Americans over the age of 60, about 5 million people, have experienced some form of abuse.

It can be overt or blatant: Examples listed by the NCOA include emotional, physical or sexual abuse; willful deprivation of things like medication, medical care, needed medical equipment, shelter and even food; and financial exploitation (the annual loss there is estimated at more than $36 billion).

It also can be more off the radar, like passive neglect of an older adult's needs or subjecting that person to isolation.

And the numbers in reality are likely greater: Studies have shown that only one in 14 to one in 24 cases of elder abuse ever get reported to authorities. Too many older Americans don't know how to do that and often there's no social support network in place to show them.

However, local residents will be able to educate themselves on the subject, including learning how to spot signs of elder abuse before it gets out of hand, when the Council on Aging of Etowah County hosts its annual Elder Abuse Summit on June 12.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the new Senior Wellness Center at 2829 W. Meighan Boulevard, and is free to those 55 and older, or 50 and older (and their caregivers) if they have a disability.

There will be guest speakers and information on community resources, plus attendees will receive a T-shirt and lunch. Door prizes also will be offered.

Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to 256-543-3616 by June 5. More information on the summit also can be obtained at that number.

The event is sponsored by the Alabama Council on Economic Education, and is being held in conjunction with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15.  

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Council on Aging's annual Elder Abuse Summit set for June 12 in Gadsden

Legislature adopts sweeping reforms for senior care homes

By Carrie Teegardin

A bill to improve staffing, training and accountability in Georgia’s senior care homes is headed to Gov. Brian Kemp after the House on Wednesday approved a Senate version of HB 987.

The House unanimously signed off on the Senate’s version of the bill, which added requirements for handling COVID-19 to the bill’s reforms of the senior care industry.

“I am so proud of Georgia’s House and Senate for making the necessary changes to ensure the safety of our seniors who choose to live in assisted living facilities,” said Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, the lead sponsor of the bill.

Kemp has said he strongly supports the legislation, which will bring dramatic changes to the state’s assisted living communities and large personal care homes. Memory care units would have to get certified and have more staff, directors would have to be licensed and homes that break the rules would face higher fines. Assisted living homes would be required to have nurse staffing. Homes would also have to disclose financial problems to residents and families.

Plus, senior care homes must plan for a pandemic, have a short-term supply of personal protective gear, test residents and staff and notify residents and families of an outbreak.

Cooper drafted the bill to help prevent the types of neglect and abuse in senior care homes that were exposed last year by a series in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
 
Advocates applauded the Senate’s move to add the COVID-19 requirements.

Most of the bill relates to assisted living and personal care homes with 25 beds or more. But the additional COVID-19 requirements would also apply to the state’s nursing homes.

“Georgia’s seniors gain new protections in this landmark legislation,” said Kathy Floyd, executive director of the Georgia Council on Aging.

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Legislature adopts sweeping reforms for senior care homes

Stealing from elderly arrest

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Stealing from elderly arrest

Attleboro COA takes aim at financial abuse of elderly

The Larsen Senior Center in Attleboro

ATTLEBORO — Just before Christmas, a 70-year-old city man was scammed out of thousands of dollars after his computer was hit with a fake virus.

An on-screen ad popped up and gave a phone number he could call for repairs.

He did and was instructed to buy Google Pay cards and give the numbers to the person he called.

Supposedly someone would then come to fix his computer.

But no one ever did, and now he’s out $7,000.

Police Chief Kyle Heagney told The Sun Chronicle at the time that all residents, but especially elderly ones, need to be wary of this kind of fraud.

“This is a terrible exploitation of our elderly citizens,” Heagney said. “Especially this time of year, for someone to take advantage of the elderly is disheartening.”

That crime came just as the city’s council on aging ramped up an effort to help elders deal with abuse of all kinds — physical, emotional and financial.

“Abuse and neglect of our senior population is far more common then we may want to think and is a growing problem,” Council on Aging Director Madeleine McNielly said in a letter to The Sun Chronicle. “The incidence of financial exploitation, the misuse or withholding of an older adults’ resources, is growing nationally. Fraudulent telemarketing schemes and unscrupulous scam artists increasingly target elders, resulting in significant financial losses.”

She said a study by the U. S. Administration on Aging estimates that up to 1 million elderly are physically abused, neglected or financially exploited each year.

In addition, cases of abuse are not reported far more often than they are, she said.

She cited studies showing only one out of every 25 cases is reported.

A significant part of the growing abuse is financial, McNielly said.

“One third of reported elder abuse cases last year involved allegations of financial exploitation and the number is expected to grow as the population ages,” she said. “National and state elder services recognize that addressing financial exploitation is a priority.”

To make matters worse, the perpetrators are often members of an elder’s family, which is damaging emotionally as well as financially.

“Loved and trusted family members too often make illegal and improper use of resources, resulting in emotional and financial damage that is devastating.,” McNielly said.

“Elders and vulnerable adults are left unable to pay for their basic daily needs, including housing, food, critical utilities and medications, and are traumatized by this victimization. “

So to help stem the tide of elder abuse, the COA is hosting a program at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, at the city’s library on North Main Street “to aid in early identification and prevention of elder financial exploitation and fraud.”

Presenters will include Gabriela Vieira, vice president, Banking Center Manager, Webster Bank; former city detective Arthur J. Brillon, now a special investigator from District Attorney Tom Quinn’s Financial Abuse Investigative Team; and lawyers from South Coastal Counties Legal Services Inc.

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Attleboro COA takes aim at financial abuse of elderly

Be a Santa to a Senior program in Lake County gives thousands of gifts, companionship to area elderly

It was 2014 when Nina Lombardo-Mylott noticed a wreath full of tags at Lake County Council on Aging.

The tags signified gift ideas for elderly Lake County residents who could benefit from the Be a Santa to a Senior program. Lombardo-Mylott took five tags, then went back a few days later and emptied the wreath.

“I purchased all of the gifts and felt great about it, until I came across a small Be a Santa to a Senior tree located someplace else in Lake County and saw all the tags that still remained,” she recalled. “I knew I needed to do more to get the word out about this wonderful program.”

Be a Santa to a Senior originated in 2003 with Omaha, Nebraska-based Home Instead Senior Care. Since the program began, more than 60,000 volunteers have distributed 1.2 million gifts to 700,000 seniors, according to the Home Instead website.

In 2015, Lombardo-Mylott, who is Mentor Safety Forces Communications supervisor, received approval to place a Be a Santa to a Senior tree in the Mentor Municipal Center lobby. In the last four years, more than half the 2,000 gifts distributed in Lake County have come from Mentor’s giving tree.

“The response from the city of Mentor employees and residents was amazing,” she said, adding that the success led to an annual gift-wrapping party at city hall. “City employees look forward to the tree going up and are happy to help, whether it is by choosing a tag or helping to wrap gifts. Residents take time out of their busy day to stop in and select tags. We have emptied the tree of tags every year.”

The gift-giving tree will be in the lobby now through Dec. 14, when the wrapping event will be held, starting at 10 a.m. Volunteers also deliver the gifts.

The Mentor location of Home Instead, 7334 Center St., finds seniors in need by working with community organizations that assist the elderly. Along with the Council on Aging, they include United Way, Geauga Department on Aging, local hospitals, nursing homes, attorney guardianship offices and senior centers.

“In 2004, Home Instead Senior Care collected gifts for 186 seniors,” said local Executive Director Valorie Armstrong, who also runs the program in Geauga County. “Since then, the program has grown significantly with over 1,000 seniors receiving the joy of companionship and a gift last holiday season.”

A project of this magnitude requires year-long planning, she said. The final program implementation phase begins in mid-November and ends Dec. 23.

Some of the larger community partners include area chambers of commerce, Wal-Mart, Giant Eagle, KeyBank and local shopping malls. Also contributing are many smaller local merchants, church organizations, scouts and school groups.

“Most of our senior recipients from the program tell us the companionship visit is appreciated even more than the gift itself,” Armstrong said. “What an amazing opportunity it has been to impact the lives of thousands of isolated seniors at home with the gift of love and the human spirit. This program truly embodies what the spirit of volunteerism is about: the giving of oneself fully to brighten the life of another.”

The corporate financial commitment to this program was about $30,000 in 2011 and includes purchasing printing supplies, trees, decorations, wrapping materials and remaining gift items on the list of presents for seniors, as well as providing Home Instead Senior Care staff time.

At Mentor Municipal Center, participants pick an ornament from the tree, buy the item listed and return it to the front desk or to the Mentor Police Records counter. The gift wishes are simple items such as slippers, crossword puzzles, warm blankets and stamps.

“This program is vital,” Lombardo-Mylott said. “Our senior citizens must not be forgotten, particularly during the holidays.”

She is spurred on by something her grandmother told her: “As you age and start losing all the people closest to you that you love, it feels like lights going out, one by one, and eventually you feel left alone in the dark. My greatest hope is that when the seniors receive these gifts, it’s a small light turned on, even if just for a little while.”

The Mentor Municipal Center is located at 8500 Civic Center Blvd., and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Armstrong at 440-257-5800.

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Be a Santa to a Senior program in Lake County gives thousands of gifts, companionship to area elderly

Stopping elder abuse is the goal of Georgia legislative measures

Georgia lawmakers this year handed seniors and their advocates several victories in their fight against the growing problem of elder abuse. Among them are tougher background checks for caretakers and a new statewide elder-abuse registry.

A new law will require employees with direct access to residents in nursing homes and other licensed senior care communities to clear an FBI fingerprint background check. The measure will help home care providers find out if applicants have been abusive in previous positions, and weed out current employees with a history of abuse.

That information will be put on a statewide elder-abuse registry so that anyone wanting to hire a caretaker can check the database.

The measure won’t kick in until 2021, giving elder-care facilities three years to complete comprehensive background checks on current employees and set up the procedure for new hires. The registry will be created immediately using a federal grant.

Advocates for the aged have long wanted to create a registry to prevent the hiring of caretakers with a known history of abusing vulnerable adults.

“There’s certainly room to improve it after it’s in place, but it’s a great start just getting the comprehensive background checks,” said Kathy Floyd, executive director of theGeorgia Council on Aging.

Currently, licensed care facilities are required to conduct a limited one-state and one-name background check on employees. The tighter scrutiny would close loopholes and catch offenders from other states or those who may have changed their name.

Georgia is one of only a few states that doesn’t already mandate fingerprinting, said Heather Strickland, assistant special agent for at-risk adults for theGeorgia Bureau of Investigation.

“This will certainly help and make sure those working with the elderly don’t have a past history of abuse,” Strickland said.

Advocates for the aged made elder abuse and the registry top legislative priorities this year. Vicki Johnson, chair of the Georgia Council on Aging, called the outcome “a great victory for seniors.”

“Both the council and CO-AGE have worked over the years to ensure that older adults, disabled persons and other vulnerable populations are safe and protected from exploitation,” Johnson said.

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JASON GETZ / AJC

Lawmakers, lobbyists, staff, and members of the public fill the three floors of the Georgia State Capitol during Legislative Day 40 ... read more

The state’s senior population, at 11 percent now, continues to grow. And with it has been an explosive growth in elder abuse.

Since 2010, reports of elder abuse have increased 550 percent, according to the Georgia Council on Aging. Yet only a small portion of these crimes are ever reported, said GBI Director Vernon Keenan.

Nationwide, it’s estimated that one in 10 older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation, and that for every case of elder abuse, 23.5 cases go unreported, according to theNational Center on Elder Abuse.

For the past five years, state legislators have increased funding for Adult Protective Services caseworkers, hired additional GBI agents to focus on elder-abuse crimes, and set aside funds for an elder-abuse attorney to prosecute cases. Lawmakers have also increased training for law enforcement through the Division of Aging and stiffened penalties on unlicensed personal care homes.

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BITA HONARVAR / AJC

Protecting the elderly. (Photo: Bita Honarvar/AJC) 

Two other bills to combat elder abuse were also passed by lawmakers this year. One is a trafficking bill that will crack down on personal care home operators who prey on elderly and at-risk adults in need of housing. In many cases, these adults are forced to live in substandard housing in exchange for turning over all of their Social Security benefits or other financial allowances, Floyd said.

Another bill passed will allow for better coordination and communication between law enforcement and Adult Protective Services on sensitive abuse cases. The goal is to have multidisciplinary teams working together to form an elder-abuse task force in each judicial district.

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ENGAGE with CO-AGE

Georgia Council on Aging volunteers will host meetings in communities across the state April 16-20 to share updates from the legislative session and discuss upcoming senior issues.

Meetings in metro Atlanta include:

• Wesley Woods Towers; Monday, April 16, 10-11 a.m., Wesley Woods Towers, 1825 Clifton Road, Atlanta.

• Clairmont Oaks; Monday, April 16, 2-3 p.m., Clairmont Oaks, 441 Clairemont Ave., Decatur.

• Forsyth County Senior Services, Thursday, April 19, 2-3 p.m., Forsyth County Senior Services, 595 Dahlonega St., Cumming.

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Stopping elder abuse is the goal of Georgia legislative measures