A New Law in China: Children Must Visit Elderly Parents or Be Sued

BY: MARGARET MINNICKS
DECEMBER 29, 2012

In China, family matters.
According to reports, the new law states that children must visit their parents and visit them often. However, the law doesn't say how often.
If children don't visit their ailing parents, they can be sued.
This new law became effective because of recent reports that elderly parents claim they have been abandoned or neglected by their children.
Chinese newspapers are full of stories of elderly parents being mistreated. For example, earlier this month Chinese media reported that a woman in her nineties had been forced by her son to live in a pigsty for two years.
There are also stories of children trying to seize their parents' assets, or of old people dying unnoticed in their homes.
The traditional extended family in China has been damaged because of the rapid pace of China's development.
Here are some of China's statistics that led to the visitation law to be regulated.
• An eighth of the population of China is over the age of 60.
• China has nearly 167 million people aged over 60, and one million above 80.
• More than half of China's elderly people live alone.
• Children often leave their parents at home while they go to work in the major industrial centers.
• The dislocation of families has been exacerbated by China's one-child policy and a dramatic advance in life expectancy.
• There are fewer working children to support more elderly relatives.
• China has few affordable retirement or care homes for the elderly.

SOURCE:       The Examiner
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Secret Cameras Capture Nursing Home Abuse

Secret Cameras Capture Nursing Home Abuse
28 Dec, 2012

Alleged nursing home abuse in Pennsylvania has led to arrests and the official revocation of a nursing home’s license.
On Tuesday, December 11, police arrested the two alleged elder abusers, who are former employees of the Arbors at Buck Run, a nursing home in Feasterville, Penn., according to an article on the NBC10 Philadelphia news site.
Suspecting that elder abuse was ongoing, a patient’s daughter placed secret cameras in her mother’s room. The cameras recorded repeated abuse from October 16 to November 13, 2012. The arrested caregivers, both in their early 20s, were caught on film manhandling the patient. Additionally, one of them was “literally dancing in the face of a wheelchair bound victim,” said a detective in the Lower Southampton Police Department.
Soon after, police charged the employees with neglect of a care-dependent person, reckless endangerment, simple assault, and harassment. The employees’ lawyer denied any wrongdoing by his clients and claimed the surveillance video’s evidence was “a matter of interpretation.”
Nevertheless the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has also charged the facility with “gross incompetence, negligence and misconduct,” and revoked its license. The management company for the Arbors stated it would appeal the DPW’s closing order and remain open for the next 30 days, according to the news story.
Nursing home abuse is a real crime. Nursing home abuse lawsuits can help victims of this crime get justice and financial compensation for their suffering. If you or a loved one has been a victim of this type of negligence or abuse, call Sokolove Law today

SOURCE:     CisionWire
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Recognizing the Behavioural Signs of Elder Abuse

Recognizing the behavioural signs of Elder Abuse
By Tobi Abramson

Recognizing the signs and symptoms of elder abuse is crucial in getting help for older adult victims. Professionals often initially miss many signs and symptoms that can indicate abuse as they can overlap with other symptoms of deteriorating mental health. Recognizing elder abuse is central to prompt intervention and to reducing the impact of abuse on the older person’s psychological and physical well-being.
Symptoms can be divided into the physical or concrete and the behavioral, although there is often overlap between the two. Professionals and the lay public are most familiar with concrete symptoms. Yet behavioral signs can be extremely important in detecting abuse and neglect, especially in people who have communication challenges and are unable to express what has happened or is happening to them. In many cases, physical signs of abuse may not yet be present or noticed, so behavioral signs are often the first indicators of abuse. Usually people who have been abused exhibit a combination of physical and behavioral changes.

Telltale signs of physical abuse include: bruises, especially in cluster or regular patterns, black eyes, welts, laboratory evidence of overdoses of medication or lack of administration of medication, to name a few. Some older adults may verbally report being physically abused.
From a behavioral standpoint, older adults who are being physically abused may present with anger, fear, anxiety, nervousness or depression. They may avoid eye contact, their eyes may dart or they may even startle easily or cringe. They also may exhibit sudden apathy, or withdrawal behavior. In some cases, the caretaker may refuse visitors or not allow the elder to be alone with visitors.
Psychosomatic complaints are another common indicator of abuse. For men, the most common complaint is stomachaches, whereas women tend to complain of headaches. Other behavioral signs to look for can include changes in the manner in which affection is shown, particularly when this display is unusual or inappropriate, or sudden changes, such as fears of being touched.  Sleep patterns can change, too, with an onset of nightmares or difficulty sleeping. These, too, may be telltale signs of physical abuse or neglect.

Emotional abuse by definition means the older adult suffers insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation or harassment, causing distress. Classic symptoms of this type of abuse can be seen when the older adult is emotionally upset or when the elder displays agitated or fearful behavior, especially in the presence of a specific individual. The older adult may withdraw or become apathetic. It is possible that older adults who are experience emotional abuse may regress and engage in unusual behavior like sucking, rocking or even biting. Older adults may experience depression or mood swings when they are victims of emotional abuse. In addition to the behavioral symptoms, some may verbally express suffering this type of abuse or mistreatment.

Abridged
SOURCE:        American Society on Aging
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Caregivers: Spotting & Preventing Financial Elder Abuse

12/20/2012
by Sally Abrahms

What if something just doesn’t feel right or your parents’, relative or friend’s finances aren’t adding up? Could it be a professional caregiver, someone who has befriended them recently, or, perish the thought, even your own flesh and blood, who is cooking the books or sporting a cushy lifestyle at your expense? Could it befinancial exploitation?
As important as checking out a relative’s physical environment and their health is making sure their money is safe. Just in time for the holidays, the government’s Eldercare Locator, administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the National Center on Elder Abuse, have released a free brochure. Protect Your Pocketbook: Tips to Avoid Financial Exploitation lists warning signs, an action plan to prevent it, and where to go if  your relative (or you) is a victim.
Not your parent? Government figures show as many as five million older adults annually are victims of financial elder abuse, costing them an estimated $3 billion a year.
A financial planner recently told me that he has colleagues in the money business whose own elderly (and vulnerable) parents have been victims of greedy and unscrupulous predators.  So if it can happen to them, guys. . .
Here’s a preview of potential signs:
• Spend-away activity that doesn’t match your parent’s personality, increased credit card expenses or withdrawals and newly authorized signers on accounts
• Recent changes in property title, deeds, mortgages, wills, trusts, Power of Attorney and other important documents.
• A granddaughter age new “girlfriend” who suddenly becomes chummy with Dad.
To avert a problem:
• Make sure your relative is capable of managing his/her finances. If not, can someone trustworthy in the family do it or should you hire a money manager?
• Do they have an estate plan? Ask a lawyer about a durable power of attorney for asset management, a living will, trusts and a health care advance directive.
• Make sure they don’t give their Social Security, credit card or ATM PIN number over the phone to a caller, shred bank statements and credit card receipts; get a criminal background check for caregivers.
And if:
• Call the Eldercare Locator at 800 677-1116 to connect you with local resources such as Adult Protective Services and an ombudsmen for those in long-term care.
• If you sense danger, call your local police at 911.
Fascinating: University of California, Los Angeles, researchers believe neurological brain changes in older people may make them more vulnerable to fraud. Read why.

SOURCE:      AARP BLOG
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Seniors at Risk: Education and Advocacy for Seniors

The Seniors at Risk website is a gathering place for those who are fighting lonely battles for respect, justice and goodwill, often against bureaucracies or other powerful societal organizations and groups

December 21, 2012

Now that the holiday season is well upon us, let’s raise a toast to Denmark. Yes, Denmark, the little country that could… and does treat its elderly citizens with compassion, love and respect.
The Danes even passed a law giving every nursing home resident the right to fresh air – every day! Remarkable. Yes the right to fresh air is actually enshrined in law, unlike so many elder rights “wall posters” which aren’t worth the paper they’re written on, like British Columbia’s much ballyhooed but hollow Residents Bill of Rights… the one that does not even mention the fundamental right of a person to not consent to (forced) treatment.
And let’s raise a glass to the feisty elderly women of France who, outraged at the prospect of “life” in a seniors’ residence, became real estate developers and built retirement homes for themselves in a brand-spanking new 6-story Paris apartment building – which they also run and operate themselves. Three cheers for the women of Baba Yaga’s House.
These good works are models of courage, cooperation and simple decency that we in Canada and the United States should be using as a beacon to guide us to a future where our elderly citizens can live their lives free of fear, free of abuse by doctors, nurses and aides, and free to live life where and how they wish.
Two documentaries recently aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the fall of 2012, one about Denmark’s efforts and the other about the intrepid Parisian women. Kudos to the CBC for taking a leadership role in the Canadian media to portray possibilities beyond what our politicians seem to be able to envisage.

SOURCE:      Seniors At Risk

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Consumer Reports: Elderly Financial Abuse

By Tyler Slauson
Dec 7, 2012

Older Americans are easy victims for scam artists. But a Consumer Reports’ investigation has found increasingly it’s trusted family and friends who are abusing the elderly by draining bank accounts, selling valuables, or even taking over their real estate. And those crimes can often be very difficult to spot.

Caregivers, family members, and neighbors can use all kinds of tactics to raid their assets. They can be as obvious as forging signatures on checks, begging for loans that are never paid back, or abusing power of attorney.

When you give power of attorney to someone, it can give him unfettered access to your accounts. Someone who misuses those powers can do real damage. And that’s a real problem for the elderly.

Consumer Reports says to help prevent elder abuse:

Have bank and investment statements sent to a person you trust to monitor accounts.

Arrange for direct deposit and automatic bill pay.

Consult a reputable elder law attorney for advice on wills and limiting power of attorney.

Consumer Reports says there are good places to get help if you or an elderly relative is concerned about financial abuse, including the National Center on Elder Abuse, which has links to help and hotlines. That website is ncea.aoa.gov.

SOURCE:     KEPRTV
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Nursing Home Carer Found Guilty of Abusing Frail OAP (UK)

Nursing home carer found guilty of abusing frail OAP
11 Dec 2012

JEAN WALES pulled the 85-year-old woman out of a chair and dragged her back to her room.
A CARER at a nursing home has been convicted of subjecting an 85-year-old woman to a catalogue of abuse.
Jean Wales, 60, pulled the frail resident out of a chair after shouting and swearing at her repeatedly.
She dragged her confused victim back to her room, yelling: “I’ve f****** had enough of you.”
Wales was found guilty at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court of ill-treating the woman at the town’s Graceland nursing home in December 2011.
The court heard Michelle Boyd, 39 – who was visiting another resident – saw Wales abusing the pensioner.
Ms Boyd said: “She pulled her out of her chair by the arm.”
Wales, of Kilmarnock, had claimed staff made up the allegations out of jealousy because she had applied for another job.
Sentence was deferred until next month.

SOURCE:         The Daily Record, UK
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Almost $1 Million Going To Stop Elder Abuse, Negect

By Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje
December 6, 2012

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services will use a nearly $1 million federal grant to combat elder abuse and neglect, a problem that a recent study says touched about 11 percent of seniors nationwide in 2010.
The $907,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services takes the form of a partnership between Adult Protective Services and the WellMed Charitable Foundation, which will use the money over three years to train staffers in 47 WellMed health clinics across Texas to better identify elder abuse or neglect and develop methods to prevent or stop it.
The money also will provide education materials to seniors at clinics in five Texas locations — San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, El Paso and the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
The WellMed Medical Group provides primary care to more than 40,000 Texas seniors a year across the state.
“This grant will help bring the problem of elder abuse and neglect out of the shadows,” said Joann Tobias-Molina, regional director of Adult Protective Services, the division of the state agency that will implement the grant. “We like to think of the golden years as a time when we're protected, but unfortunately for the victims of elder abuse this isn't so. It's a hidden crime. Victims suffer in silence.”
The grant will pay for two APS specialists to travel to the various clinics to train medical staff — more than 120 doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants — starting with 23 clinics in San Antonio.
There were more than 58,000 confirmed cases of elder abuse or neglect in Texas last year, according to TDFPS data. Most involved medical or physical neglect.
For every case of elder abuse that gets reported, five more go unreported, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse.
Last year, there were more than 9,000 reports of possible elder abuse or neglect in Bexar County.
“We know elder abuse is out there,” said Cliff Herberg, first assistant district attorney of Bexar County, who attended a Wednesday news conference that announced the grant. “At some point in our lives, all of us could be potential victims for this crime. And elder abuse and neglect are crimes which are physically, psychologically and financially devastating for the victims.”
The WellMed Charitable Foundation worked with the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging and the Elder Justice Coalition in developing the grant.
The foundation was created in 2006 by Dr. George M. Rapier III, who's chairman of the WellMed Medical Group.
Since its creation, the foundation has donated more than $3 million to Texas-based nonprofits, according to a news release.

SOURCE:      MySanAntonio
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Over Half of Nursing Home Staff Witness Neglect of Elderly

Over half of nursing home staff witness neglect of elderly
By Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent
 December 07 2012

MORE than half of nursing home staff admit having witnessed neglect of elderly residents and one in four has watched as the vulnerable people were psychologically abused.
One in eight of staff surveyed in private and public nursing homes say they have observed physical abuse.
The stark findings are revealed in a report from the National Centre for the Protection of Older People at UCD after a survey of 1,300 nurses and healthcare assistants from 64 nursing homes.
It also shows that despite inspectors making announced and unannounced visits to nursing homes, they are not picking up many cases of poor treatment.
Three percent of staff confessed they themselves were the perpetrators of some form of physical abuse and 8pc had engaged in psychological abuse.

The report revealed:
? The most frequently observed forms of physical abuse were restraining a resident beyond what was needed and pushing, grabbing, shoving or pinching them.
? Psychological abuse, including shouting at a resident in anger, insulting or swearing and isolating them.
? A minority said they had seen another staff member taking valuables or property from a resident, while 0.7pc reported having stolen from a resident.
? A small number saw inappropriate sexual behaviour by a staff member with a resident, while 0.2pc admitted they were guilty of this themselves.

The report found that some factors were seen as linked to the inappropriate behaviour, including low levels of job satisfaction and staff suffering emotional exhaustion.
Lead author Dr Jonathan Drennan of the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems, said: "When compared with international research into staff-resident interactions and conflicts, this study found the extent of staff-reported abuse in residential care settings in Ireland was lower than that reported in other countries.
"In addition, a number of initiatives and safeguards have been put in place by the HSE and HIQA to protect older people receiving care in the residential sector.
"However... there is a need to intensify efforts to protect older people receiving care.
"These include: giving older people a voice in their care, educating staff and relatives about abuse and providing supports for staff."
Frank Murphy, chair of the national elder abuse committee in the HSE which funded the report, urged older people who are being abused to contact their local GP or public health nurse.
- Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent

SOURCE:      The IrishIndependent

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Manager of Assisted Living Facility Arrested on Suspicion of Fraud, Identity Theft

December 6, 2012

By Bay City News 

Mill Valley police arrested the manager of an assisted living facility Wednesday on suspicion of fraud, identity theft and financial elder abuse of a resident.
Marianita Capra, 49, of Novato, is suspected of stealing more than $40,000 from a resident of the Marin Terrace assisted living facility at 297 Miller Ave. in Mill Valley over the last several months, Detective Sgt. Paul Wrapp said.
Police have identified one victim so far and are investigating whether there are other victims, Wrapp said.
No one from the 49-bed assisted living facility was available to comment on Capra's arrest this morning.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Wrapp or Detective David Kollerer at 389-4100

SOURCE:         MarinScope
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Additional Charges Likely in Fatal Elderly Abuse Case

Affton woman allegedly beat her grandmother, caused injuries that led to her death

by Jaime Mowers

12/07/2012

 The St. Louis County Police Department is seeking upgraded charges against a South County woman who allegedly beat her 92-year-old grandmother and caused injuries that led to her death.

Rachel Armstrong, 37, of the 11000 block of Golf Crest Drive in Affton, was charged Nov. 21 with a felony for first-degree elder abuse. Police said that on Nov. 12, Armstrong threw down her grandmother, Angela Armstrong, and stomped on her, breaking her arms and eight ribs because she believed she was a demon.

St. Louis County Police spokesman Randy Vaughn said the grandmother lived at Rachel Armstrong's home.

Police presented additional information to the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney's Office following the grandmother's death on Dec. 3, and announced Wednesday that stiffer charges will be sought against Rachel Armstrong.

"The upgraded charges were based on (yesterday's) determination that the death was due to injuries received from a Nov. 21, 2012, elderly abuse case," the statement police released Wednesday said.

The case is set for a grand jury during the first week of January, which is when the additional information will be presented and the upgraded charges will be considered. Police have not said specifically what the charges might be.

Armstrong is being held in the St. Louis County Jail in lieu of a $75,000 cash bail

SOURCE:        The South Country Times
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Ways to Prevent Elder Abuse

National, Consumer and Texas News, Videos
November 29, 2012

Older Americans are easy victims for scam artists. But a Consumer Reports’ investigation has found increasingly it’s trusted family and friends who are abusing the elderly by draining bank accounts, selling valuables, or even taking over their real estate. And those crimes can often be very difficult to spot.

Caregivers, family members, and neighbors can use all kinds of tactics to raid their assets. They can be as obvious as forging signatures on checks, begging for loans that are never paid back, or abusing power of attorney.

When you give power of attorney to someone, it can give him unfettered access to your accounts. Someone who misuses those powers can do real damage. And that’s a real problem for the elderly.
Consumer Reports says to help prevent elder abuse:
• Have bank and investment statements sent to a person you trust to monitor accounts.
• Arrange for direct deposit and automatic bill pay.
• Consult a reputable elder law attorney for advice on wills and limiting power of attorney.

Consumer Reports says there are good places to get help if you or an elderly relative is concerned about financial abuse, including the National Center on Elder Abuse, which has links to help and hotlines.

Complete Ratings and recommendations on all kinds of products, including appliances, cars & trucks, and electronic gear, are available on Consumer Reports’ website.

SOURCE:       KVUE
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Elder Abuse Gets Boost of Prevention with $907,000

Elder abuse gets boost of prevention with $907,000 grant
by Eric Gonzales / KENS 5
December 5, 2012

Adult Protective Services received more than 13,000 reports for elder abuse last year.

WellMed will partner with APS to screen seniors in an effort to prevent abuse.

A $907,000 grant has been awarded to WellMed to educate doctors and their staff to screen seniors for possible elderly abuse. Elder abuse is taking advantage physically, financially or by neglecting anyone over the age of 65.
The three-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services will pay for two Adult Protective Service specialists to train WellMed staff on how to recognize the signs of elderly abuse.

Assistant District Attorney Clifford Herberg said, “When a caregiver removes someone from their home, takes them somewhere else and prevents other people from having access to them, that’s a clue that something’s up.”

While APS had more than 13,000 cases of elder abuse last year, they say only 1 in 10 are actually reported.

“What we find is that our senior clients, our senior victims of abuse and neglect really don’t feel comfortable disclosing information about abuse that’s occurred to them. So, what we do find is that they can feel comfortable in the physician’s office,” said Joann Tobias Molina of Adult Protective services.

SOURCE:      KENS5.COM

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