GCCA Tackles Elder Abuse Issues (WV. USA)

GCCA tackles elder abuse issues

By Tina Alvey
Register-Herald reporter

October 20, 2009

As the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department has focused more resources on the problem of child abuse, public awareness has risen, meaning abusers have been exposed and victims have received help.

The Greenbrier County Committee on Aging hopes to shine that same sanitizing light onto the lesser-publicized problem of elder abuse.

“Several months ago, we identified elder abuse as an issue we thought we could help with,” says Gloria Martin, vice president of the GCCA board of directors. “I read about two particularly horrific cases in the paper — one about a Greenbrier County woman who died and the other a Fayette County case that brought about changes in the law.”

As the former executive director of the Family Refuge Center in Lewisburg, Martin has extensive experience in helping victims of domestic abuse, although she notes few of the FRC’s clients are elderly.

The committee on aging formed a subcommittee to study the elder abuse issue and come up with an action plan. Meeting monthly, the subcommittee includes Catherine Hill, Joan Browning, Vicki Dove, Mary Jo Sharp and Martin. In addition, representatives from Adult Protective Services, the Greenbrier County Prosecutor’s office, the sheriff’s department and the FRC have attended at least some of the subcommittee sessions.

“Our first project is putting together a training piece for people who work with the elderly,” Martin says. “It will help the caregivers to identify abuse and neglect and take them to the next step — offering assistance to victims and knowing who to call to get that help.”

Martin expects the GCCA to begin offering the training in late winter or early spring 2010.

“This winter, we will contact area nursing homes to set up a schedule for the training,” Martin notes. “We will take the training to them; they won’t have to leave their work site to get this information. And we’ll visit each site more than once, so we can reach all the staff, regardless of what shift they work.”

The GCCA is in the process of securing eligibility for continuing education credits for those who take the anticipated two-hour training course.

“We also need to get a better handle on the financial issues involved in some cases of elder abuse,” Martin points out. “We’re doing our best to educate ourselves so we’re in a position to talk about this issue in an intelligent way.”
Abridged
SOURCE:   The Register Herald, West Virginia, USA
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