New Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team will focus on protecting the elderly

by Austin L. Miller

 

The state attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit is putting together a team that will look at elderly deaths in this area.

The move comes after state legislators passed a bill authorizing each judicial circuit to create an Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team.

Legislators' goal is for the team to examine circumstances surrounding an elderly person's death, see if the death could have been prevented, and identify solutions or programs that could save someone else in the future.

The team can only review closed cases, not active or criminal cases. 

State Attorney Bill Gladson said he has contacted the sheriff's offices for the circuit's five counties — Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus and Hernando — to gauge their interest. Gladson said all five agencies agreed to participate. 

The five counties have more than 1.2 million people, according to State Attorney's Office officials.

State Attorney Bill Gladson

Gladson, a longtime prosecutor who became state attorney last month, said the process should be an eye opener for everyone because they can learn what does and doesn't work. The team can prevent future elder abuse or even deaths and provide resources to those in need. The team also will give recommendations to legislators who can then craft and explore laws to protect the elderly.

The team will consist of law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, health care providers and others who work close with the elderly. It will be required to submit a report on its findings to the Department of Elder Affairs, which will then send a summary report to the governor, Legislature and the Department of Children and Families.

According to the bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, in 2018, the state had an estimated 4.3 million people age 65 and older. It's believed that by 2030, that number will rise to approximately 5.9 million. State officials believe the 5.9 million figure will represent about a quarter of the state's population.

Elderly abuse occurs in private homes, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and other places, according to a summary analysis of the bill. Some of the people who commit these types of abuse are relatives, friends and neighbors who sometimes are companions or act as the elderly person's caregiver.

According to the bill, research has shown that elder abuse is often not reported because victims fear their safety may be compromised. They also fear being left alone or losing their caregiver's trust.

DCF reports that in fiscal year 2018-19, the agency received more than 37,000 reports of abuse, neglect or exploitations of people age 60 and older. The department investigated 252 deaths where the death was allegedly cause by abuse and neglect, according to information in the bill.

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New Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team will focus on protecting the elderly

New Florida law kicks off local review of elderly abuse deaths

 by Dan Scanlan

A group of prosecutors, medical experts, elder care providers and others took their first step Friday to officially investigating senior citizen abuse deaths with the backing of a new state law.

The State Attorney’s Office kicked off the first meeting of the Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team at the Duval County Courthouse, many members meeting via video conference. The members named Duval County Judge Gary Flower and ElderSource CEO Linda Levin as co-chairs.

Approved by the Legislature and signed into law in June, the legislation calls for the state attorney of each circuit to initiate an elder abuse fatality review team in his or her judicial circuit. Closed State Attorney's Office cases of elder fatalities caused by abuse or neglect will be provided to the team so it can make policy recommendations to help prevent future similar cases.

"It can be a walk-in that you looked at and said there's not enough evidence here," Flower said. "The team will look at those files and mine it for information to allow us to review, without blaming and shaming. ... We can look at the closed files and see, as a community, how we can do better and find gaps in services."

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, was the bill sponsor. She said she is "extremely excited" that it is finally law and that her district has initiated a team. It was "four years in the making," she said.

"Isn't that ridiculous?" Gibson said. "We had to fight against the nursing homes, then the trial lawyers and everyone else thinking we were going to come into their facilities and inspect them and start charging them with criminal actions. But it's not about that. It's about our seniors." 

The National Council on Aging says about 1-in-10 Americans aged 60-plus has experienced some form of elder abuse, as high as 5 million abused victims each year. A recent USA TODAY Network - Florida investigation focused on 54 nursing home deaths from 2013 through 2017 where state inspectors cited neglect and mistreatment as factors. It found Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration rarely took action and often didn’t investigate the deaths.

ElderSource, the Women's Center and other agencies worked with Gibson to lobby for the bill's passage.

"These reviews will seek to identify potential problems in the delivery of services to our elderly that may have contributed to the death," State Attorney Melissa Nelson said. "This work could result in policy and legal recommendations to improve the overall system of care."

The judge agreed, saying the team will not be an "investigative arm" of the State Attorney's Office but rather make recommendations.

The teams must submit information on elder abuse-related fatalities to Florida's Department of Elder Affairs by . Each Nov. 1 the teams must summarize their findings and recommendations of the review to the governor, head of the state House and Senate and the Department of Children and Families.

The approved bill allows for creation of a fatality review team in each of Florida's 20 judicial circuits, Gibson said. The teams will be made up of volunteer members from law enforcement, medical examiner’s offices, agencies on aging, the state’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, among others.

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New Florida law kicks off local review of elderly abuse deaths