BY TANYANIKA SAMUELS
Tuesday, April 22nd 2008,
Doctors at Montefiore Medical Center are getting proactive in the fight against elder abuse.
Montefiore has launched a program to train physicians and caregivers to better detect signs of abuse and to guide victims to helpful social services.
"Our goals are to provide better care for the victims of abuse, to train our physicians and caregivers to identify abuse," said Dr. Laurie Jacobs, Montefiore's chief of geriatric medicine.
The hospital created a special team of physicians from the geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry departments to act as consultants.
"Victims of elder abuse and neglect are often isolated, and physicians are among the only people they may trust or confide in," said Dr. Karin Ouchida. "Most physicians have not been trained to identify elder abuse and neglect and need to acquire [those] skills."
The city's Aging Department estimates there are 50,000 cases of elder abuse each year in New York City.
To help combat the problem, the City Council is considering a bill sponsored by James Vacca (D-East Bronx) that would create a toll-free elder abuse hotline, similar to those in place for domestic violence victims. If passed, the law also would require that senior center employees and city-funded senior-service providers get special training to detect abuse.
Similarly, officials at Montefiore said it is important to train medical staff who have direct contact with seniors.
Already, work is underway to expand the program. Workshops will be offered to train medical students from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The goal is to train all 180 medical students who rotate through Montefiore each year.
Researchers also will track the abuse cases to better understand the frequency and types of abuse, with the aim of expanding services in the Bronx and advocating for policy improvements.
The program is funded by a one-year, $150,000 grant from the Caring Commission of UJA-Federation of New York, and could be extended for two more years.
SOURCE: nyDailyNews
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