Protecting seniors
Seminars should help shield elderly from abuse, scams
OCTOBER 24, 2009
Times are tough and even tougher for some Brevard County seniors.
Seniors 65 and older make up 21 percent of Brevard’s population, or 117,857 persons. Of those, 34,680, or 8.2 percent are 80 and older. Many live on limited, fixed incomes or have seen the retirement savings they rely on for living expenses erode in the recession.
Making matters worse, Beach says scams and fraudulent activities against the elderly in Florida are “getting worse at a rapid rate.”
Statewide, 42,800 cases of elder abuse of persons older than 65 were reported in 2008, a 15 percent increase over the previous year.
Those ugly statistics are why an upcoming series of discussions relevant to seniors, sponsored by Parrish Senior Consultation Center at Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, is so timely.
Called a “Crash Course on Aging: Make the Golden Years Shine,” the four meetings are scheduled for Nov. 6, 13, 20 and Dec. 4, at Parrish’s conference center.
The sessions will cover how to avoid medication-related errors that can have dire consequences, legal issues related to late-life planning, the perils of Internet dating and prevention of physical abuse or financial exploitation of the elderly.
.... anyone who suspects abuse can use to report concerns is the elder abuse hotline at 800-96-ABUSE, or 800-962-2873.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Florida Today
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