Elder Abuse Case Changed to Homicide
Last Update: 9/08 4:20 pm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - An apparent case of elder abuse is now considered a homicide.In March, officers found 85-year-old Hazel Byes lying in dry human feces in her east Kansas City home. She died a few days later.They say she was bedridden, overweight and allowed to lie in her own waste for years.Her three adult children were questioned.So far, no charges have been filed.
SOURCE: NBC News
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September 10, 2008
Elder Abuse: A Presentation (Al. Canada)
Elder abuse session coming to Edson
Posted 1 day ago
By Ed Moore
Elder abuse is more prevalent than you think, but fear and shame often prevent victims from coming forward, according to an Aspen Mental Health spokesman.
"That's one of the biggest barriers is the shame," Aspen Mental Health Promotions Facilitator Trevor Haas said.
"The shame of saying my daughter or son or granddaughter or grandson are abusing me."
Haas will give a presentation on elder abuse — the different forms it can take and ways to prevent it — on Sept. 30, 7 p.m. at the Pioneer Cabin in Edson. Admission cost for the presentation is $10 for singles and family.
He said he got the idea to make a presentation when he became aware that, even though elder abuse happens, it seldom gets reported. Haas, added he was spurred on to spread the word when he was informed the Alberta Elder Abuse Network announced they were constructing a website last year. The website can be accessed at albertaelderabuse.ca.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Edison Leader
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Posted 1 day ago
By Ed Moore
Elder abuse is more prevalent than you think, but fear and shame often prevent victims from coming forward, according to an Aspen Mental Health spokesman.
"That's one of the biggest barriers is the shame," Aspen Mental Health Promotions Facilitator Trevor Haas said.
"The shame of saying my daughter or son or granddaughter or grandson are abusing me."
Haas will give a presentation on elder abuse — the different forms it can take and ways to prevent it — on Sept. 30, 7 p.m. at the Pioneer Cabin in Edson. Admission cost for the presentation is $10 for singles and family.
He said he got the idea to make a presentation when he became aware that, even though elder abuse happens, it seldom gets reported. Haas, added he was spurred on to spread the word when he was informed the Alberta Elder Abuse Network announced they were constructing a website last year. The website can be accessed at albertaelderabuse.ca.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Edison Leader
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Elder Abuse: Daughter Charged (Or. USA)
Daughter charged with bilking mom out of $40,000
by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
September 08, 2008
A 59-year-old Portland woman moved in with her ailing mother three years ago to help care for her.
Instead, police say, the daughter obtained at least six fraudulent credit cards in her mother's name and charged more than $40,000 to the accounts.
Now, the daughter, Elizabeth Marie Patterson, faces a 74-count indictment accusing her of multiple identity theft, forgery, criminal mistreatment and theft charges.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Oregonian
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by Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian
September 08, 2008
A 59-year-old Portland woman moved in with her ailing mother three years ago to help care for her.
Instead, police say, the daughter obtained at least six fraudulent credit cards in her mother's name and charged more than $40,000 to the accounts.
Now, the daughter, Elizabeth Marie Patterson, faces a 74-count indictment accusing her of multiple identity theft, forgery, criminal mistreatment and theft charges.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Monday.
Abridged
SOURCE: The Oregonian
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Elder Abuse: New Laws Proposed to Combat EA (USA)
New laws proposed to combat elder abuse in Washington
A new state initiative aims to make it easier to identify, prevent and prosecute abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults in Washington.
By Susan Kelleher
Seattle Times consumer affairs reporter
Elder-abuse information
To see whether a prospective caretaking hire is on the state's APS Abuse Registry, call 360-725-2528.
For more information about the state's Vulnerable Adult statutes, including where to report suspected abuse, go to: www.washington-guardianship.com/Vulnerable-Adult-FAQ.htm.
Additional information on preventing abuse is available from the National Center for Elder Abuse, www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/Index.aspx.
New laws to protect the fast-growing number of seniors in Washington state are in the works, following a yearlong initiative aimed at making it easier to identify, prevent and prosecute abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Abridged
SOURCE: The Seattle Times
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A new state initiative aims to make it easier to identify, prevent and prosecute abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults in Washington.
By Susan Kelleher
Seattle Times consumer affairs reporter
Elder-abuse information
To see whether a prospective caretaking hire is on the state's APS Abuse Registry, call 360-725-2528.
For more information about the state's Vulnerable Adult statutes, including where to report suspected abuse, go to: www.washington-guardianship.com/Vulnerable-Adult-FAQ.htm.
Additional information on preventing abuse is available from the National Center for Elder Abuse, www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/Index.aspx.
New laws to protect the fast-growing number of seniors in Washington state are in the works, following a yearlong initiative aimed at making it easier to identify, prevent and prosecute abuse of elderly and vulnerable adults.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Abridged
SOURCE: The Seattle Times
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September 7, 2008
Financial Elder Abuse: Huge Problem (UK)
Financial abuse of elderly 'huge'
6 September 2008
Thousands of elderly people are having their life-savings, possessions and homes stolen by members of their own family, a charity has claimed.
The scale of the problem was "huge and terrifying" with cash and property worth tens of millions of pounds taken last year, Action on Elder Abuse said.
Solicitors say the rise in financial abuse is partly due to substantial rises in property values.
Charities say a lack of awareness of the problem makes such crimes easy.
'Widescale problem'
Action on Elder Abuse says it has seen a rise in the number of people who contact its helpline because of financial abuse.
Abridged
SOURCE: BBC UK
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6 September 2008
Thousands of elderly people are having their life-savings, possessions and homes stolen by members of their own family, a charity has claimed.
The scale of the problem was "huge and terrifying" with cash and property worth tens of millions of pounds taken last year, Action on Elder Abuse said.
Solicitors say the rise in financial abuse is partly due to substantial rises in property values.
Charities say a lack of awareness of the problem makes such crimes easy.
'Widescale problem'
Action on Elder Abuse says it has seen a rise in the number of people who contact its helpline because of financial abuse.
- Charities say a lack of awareness of the problem makes such crimes easy.
'Widescale problem'
Action on Elder Abuse says it has seen a rise in the number of people who contact its helpline because of financial abuse.
But Daniel Blake, policy manager at the charity, believed that the cases it was aware of were only the tip of the iceberg.
"What we know is that this affects hundreds of thousands of older people," he said.
"The amounts of money are in the tens of millions of pounds being taken, stolen or defrauded from older people.
"We're not saying this happens in every family, but this is a widescale problem involving massive amounts of money that actually mean a lot to older people and has a severe impact on their quality of life."
The charity found that financial abuse can include: - The direct theft of money and/or other possessions from an older person
- Benefits belonging to the older person being withheld by family members
- Older people being forced to sell their homes
Abridged
SOURCE: BBC UK
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Elder Abuse: Man to Serve One Year in Jail (UT. USA)
Man who assaulted grandma to serve one year in jail
By Lynn Wilde II
DeserEt News
Published: Friday, Sept. 5, 2008
A man who bit and assaulted his grandmother in her Cottonwood Heights apartment then left her for dead was sentenced Friday to spend more than a year in jail.
Most of that sentence, however, was for an unrelated DUI charge.
David Aaron Wilson beat his grandmother until he thought she was dead, at which time he tried to poke and bite her eyes out, then bit her on her arms, fingers, head and face, according to a letter the woman's daughters wrote to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.
Third District Judge Michele Christiansen sentenced Wilson Friday to prison sentences of 1-15 years for elderly abuse and zero to five years for the no-contact order.
On the recommendation of Wilson's grandmother, the judge also agreed to rescind the no-contact order.
Abridged
SOURCE: Deseret News
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By Lynn Wilde II
DeserEt News
Published: Friday, Sept. 5, 2008
A man who bit and assaulted his grandmother in her Cottonwood Heights apartment then left her for dead was sentenced Friday to spend more than a year in jail.
Most of that sentence, however, was for an unrelated DUI charge.
David Aaron Wilson beat his grandmother until he thought she was dead, at which time he tried to poke and bite her eyes out, then bit her on her arms, fingers, head and face, according to a letter the woman's daughters wrote to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.
Third District Judge Michele Christiansen sentenced Wilson Friday to prison sentences of 1-15 years for elderly abuse and zero to five years for the no-contact order.
On the recommendation of Wilson's grandmother, the judge also agreed to rescind the no-contact order.
Abridged
SOURCE: Deseret News
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September 5, 2008
Elder Abuse and Neglect: Elderly at Risk in Filthy Nursing Home (Mel. Australia)
Elderly at risk in filthy nursing home
By Jill Stark
September 4, 2008
ELDERLY residents at a Melbourne nursing home were put at "serious and immediate risk" by filthy conditions and staff who were "too busy" to feed people gave out the wrong medication and failed to report violent assaults.
Faeces was found in bedrooms at the Patricia Gladwell Aged Care Home in Brunswick during a Federal Government inspection that discovered residents had been left to wet themselves and staff lacked basic training.
The home faces closure after a damning report revealed it had breached 30 of 44 minimum standards, resulting in "widespread risk to residents' health, safety and wellbeing".
Hygiene control was so bad that the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency warned of the potential for a serious outbreak of a food-related illness such as gastroenteritis. They found a trolley that was used for food delivery, waste disposal and dirty linen.
One resident was repeatedly taken to hospital to have a catheter changed because staff at the 60-bed facility did not know how to. Overworked employees were found to be too busy to deliver food or medication on time. Some residents were given incorrect or excessive prescribed drugs.
Staff also failed to act when violence broke out in the home. When one resident punched another in the face, the only action was to move the attacker so they could "settle down".
Procedures for evacuation in the event of an emergency such as a fire were also found to be flawed. "The enormity of systems and process failures across all standards has created an environment in which residents' clinical care is seriously compromised," the report said.
The audit, carried out two weeks ago, comes after the owners of the home failed to act on complaints that relatives claim date back to its opening in 2005.
Action was taken only when complaints were forwarded to the Department of Health and Ageing. The home has sacked its senior staff and appointed a specialist nursing adviser for six months, as ordered by the department. All remaining staff must undergo training in clinical care, medication management, food safety, infection control and elder abuse reporting.
Greg Prouse, who owns the home and the attached Vaucluse Hospital, cannot take on any new residents over this period and the facility could be shut down if all standards are not met.
A relative whose 73-year-old mother is a resident told The Age the problems were "systemic" at the home, which had had eight directors of nursing in three years.
"Basic care was lacking, there didn't appear to be any training for staff, they didn't even know how to change my mother's catheter," said Katrina, who did not want to give her surname.
At a meeting on Tuesday night, about 50 relatives were told of the sanctions against the home.
Acting chief executive Diane Sullivan said the home had hired external cleaners and staff were receiving training.
Source: The Age
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By Jill Stark
September 4, 2008
ELDERLY residents at a Melbourne nursing home were put at "serious and immediate risk" by filthy conditions and staff who were "too busy" to feed people gave out the wrong medication and failed to report violent assaults.
Faeces was found in bedrooms at the Patricia Gladwell Aged Care Home in Brunswick during a Federal Government inspection that discovered residents had been left to wet themselves and staff lacked basic training.
The home faces closure after a damning report revealed it had breached 30 of 44 minimum standards, resulting in "widespread risk to residents' health, safety and wellbeing".
Hygiene control was so bad that the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency warned of the potential for a serious outbreak of a food-related illness such as gastroenteritis. They found a trolley that was used for food delivery, waste disposal and dirty linen.
One resident was repeatedly taken to hospital to have a catheter changed because staff at the 60-bed facility did not know how to. Overworked employees were found to be too busy to deliver food or medication on time. Some residents were given incorrect or excessive prescribed drugs.
Staff also failed to act when violence broke out in the home. When one resident punched another in the face, the only action was to move the attacker so they could "settle down".
Procedures for evacuation in the event of an emergency such as a fire were also found to be flawed. "The enormity of systems and process failures across all standards has created an environment in which residents' clinical care is seriously compromised," the report said.
The audit, carried out two weeks ago, comes after the owners of the home failed to act on complaints that relatives claim date back to its opening in 2005.
Action was taken only when complaints were forwarded to the Department of Health and Ageing. The home has sacked its senior staff and appointed a specialist nursing adviser for six months, as ordered by the department. All remaining staff must undergo training in clinical care, medication management, food safety, infection control and elder abuse reporting.
Greg Prouse, who owns the home and the attached Vaucluse Hospital, cannot take on any new residents over this period and the facility could be shut down if all standards are not met.
A relative whose 73-year-old mother is a resident told The Age the problems were "systemic" at the home, which had had eight directors of nursing in three years.
"Basic care was lacking, there didn't appear to be any training for staff, they didn't even know how to change my mother's catheter," said Katrina, who did not want to give her surname.
At a meeting on Tuesday night, about 50 relatives were told of the sanctions against the home.
Acting chief executive Diane Sullivan said the home had hired external cleaners and staff were receiving training.
Source: The Age
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September 3, 2008
Financial Elder Abuse: Probate and Switch (Tx. USA)
Probate and switch
Probate and Switch
Lou Ann Anderson
September 1, 2008
www.EstateofDenial.com
Bait-and-switch tactics have long been part of America’s commercial landscape. While routinely associated with retail categories ranging from electronics to cars, other industries including travel, real estate and even financial institutions (subprime lenders) have earned well-documented reputations for engaging in these actions. One having escaped the bait-and-switch tag yet increasingly deserving of the designation is the legal industry – especially with regard to probate or estate issues.
The culture surrounding probate and other applicable venues must also be changed. Attorneys and judges must face real accountability and consequences for misconduct. Estate disputes should be moved from civil to the criminal venues in which they belong and where appropriate punishment can be applied. Legal professionals, their associates as well as government officials (often with a background in the legal profession) know the realities, but the lucrative status quo provides no incentive for change. Government will take the side of the people only when the people demand it and re-election may seem in peril.
EstateofDenial.com will continue to “shine light on the dark side of estate management” in hopes of educating more people regarding the dangers ahead. Our exposure of greedy wannabe beneficiaries/heirs allied with legal charlatans masquerading as estate planning professionals only to perpetrate “probate and switch” actions will continue. It’s not sanitized, civilized, reasonable or rational, but it’s a story that needs to be told.
Lou Ann Anderson is producer of The Lynn Woolley Show, a Texas-based talk radio program. She also is an advocate working to create awareness regarding the Texas probate system and its surrounding culture. Lou Ann may be contacted at info@estateofdenial.com.
Abridged
SOURCE: Estate of Denial
Another excellent article by Lou Ann. Pls. go to source to view the full text.
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Probate and Switch
Lou Ann Anderson
September 1, 2008
www.EstateofDenial.com
Bait-and-switch tactics have long been part of America’s commercial landscape. While routinely associated with retail categories ranging from electronics to cars, other industries including travel, real estate and even financial institutions (subprime lenders) have earned well-documented reputations for engaging in these actions. One having escaped the bait-and-switch tag yet increasingly deserving of the designation is the legal industry – especially with regard to probate or estate issues.
The culture surrounding probate and other applicable venues must also be changed. Attorneys and judges must face real accountability and consequences for misconduct. Estate disputes should be moved from civil to the criminal venues in which they belong and where appropriate punishment can be applied. Legal professionals, their associates as well as government officials (often with a background in the legal profession) know the realities, but the lucrative status quo provides no incentive for change. Government will take the side of the people only when the people demand it and re-election may seem in peril.
EstateofDenial.com will continue to “shine light on the dark side of estate management” in hopes of educating more people regarding the dangers ahead. Our exposure of greedy wannabe beneficiaries/heirs allied with legal charlatans masquerading as estate planning professionals only to perpetrate “probate and switch” actions will continue. It’s not sanitized, civilized, reasonable or rational, but it’s a story that needs to be told.
Lou Ann Anderson is producer of The Lynn Woolley Show, a Texas-based talk radio program. She also is an advocate working to create awareness regarding the Texas probate system and its surrounding culture. Lou Ann may be contacted at info@estateofdenial.com.
Abridged
SOURCE: Estate of Denial
Another excellent article by Lou Ann. Pls. go to source to view the full text.
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Elder Abuse On the Rise, but.. (WI. USA)
Elder abuse on rise, but so is response
By Barbara Quirk — 9/01/2008
It's enough to make a grown man cry.
A new study conducted at the University of Chicago concludes that nearly 13 percent of America's older adults suffer some form of abuse. Specifically, 9 percent reported they have suffered from verbal mistreatment, 3.5 percent from financial mistreatment, and 0.2 percent from physical mistreatment.
What this study cannot illustrate is the pain, ruin, shame and despair that are inflicted on some of our most vulnerable citizens. Our papers are full of stories of child abuse, horrific in detail. Domestic abuse is often described after someone is brutally injured or murdered. Even animal abuse is covered in the media. The dirty little secret that receives so little attention is elder abuse. An older person is seen bruised, broken or bleeding and even medical personnel, who should know better, don't question the source. Old people fall and get injured, right?
Sadly, abuse comes from many places, including fellow residents in nursing homes, personal attendants and scammers who bilk vulnerable older citizens out of millions of dollars each year. Even more tragic is the abuse that comes at the hands of family. In times of financial uncertainty, one can expect financial abuse to be on the rise. The problem is complex because the older person is often too embarrassed or ashamed to admit that a son or daughter or, God forbid, a grandchild may be abusing them in some way.
If you are being abused or suspect someone you know is being abused, call the Elder Abuse Helpline: 261-9933.
(Barbara Quirk is a Madison geriatric nurse practitioner.)
Abridged
SOURCE: The Capital Times
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More Recent Posts from Spotlight on Elder Abuse
By Barbara Quirk — 9/01/2008
It's enough to make a grown man cry.
A new study conducted at the University of Chicago concludes that nearly 13 percent of America's older adults suffer some form of abuse. Specifically, 9 percent reported they have suffered from verbal mistreatment, 3.5 percent from financial mistreatment, and 0.2 percent from physical mistreatment.
What this study cannot illustrate is the pain, ruin, shame and despair that are inflicted on some of our most vulnerable citizens. Our papers are full of stories of child abuse, horrific in detail. Domestic abuse is often described after someone is brutally injured or murdered. Even animal abuse is covered in the media. The dirty little secret that receives so little attention is elder abuse. An older person is seen bruised, broken or bleeding and even medical personnel, who should know better, don't question the source. Old people fall and get injured, right?
Sadly, abuse comes from many places, including fellow residents in nursing homes, personal attendants and scammers who bilk vulnerable older citizens out of millions of dollars each year. Even more tragic is the abuse that comes at the hands of family. In times of financial uncertainty, one can expect financial abuse to be on the rise. The problem is complex because the older person is often too embarrassed or ashamed to admit that a son or daughter or, God forbid, a grandchild may be abusing them in some way.
If you are being abused or suspect someone you know is being abused, call the Elder Abuse Helpline: 261-9933.
(Barbara Quirk is a Madison geriatric nurse practitioner.)
Abridged
SOURCE: The Capital Times
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September 1, 2008
Elder Care and Elder Abuse: Case Against Care Group Settled (USA)
Farber Law Group settles claim against Extendicare for nursing home neglect in Western Washington
August 30, 2008
by The Farber Law Group
Herbert Farber, in association with Renton attorney Todd Gardner, recently settled a claim with Extendicare, the owner and operator of the North Auburn Rehabilitation Center. At Extendicare's request, the amount of the settlement is confidential. Herbert Farber is the founder of The Farber Law Group, a firm located in Bellevue, Washington that has more than 30 years experience in representing clients who have suffered nursing home neglect. The suit was on behalf of the estate of a 74 year old Alzheimer's patient who was admitted in to North Auburn Rehabilitation following hip surgery. When the patient was admitted she did not have any skin breaks or pressure sores, however due to neglectful care she quickly developed stage III and IV decubitus ulcers (pressure sores) on her coccyx (tail bone) and on both of her ankles. These are common areas for pressure sores to develop and are easily avoidable with proper care of the patient, which includes frequent turning and other preventative measures.As we reported on this blog site last week, another suit has been filed against another Extendicare facility, Aldercrest Rehabilitation Center in Edmonds, Washington. In that case, it is alleged that a 48 year old stroke patient who had a tracheotomy was left unattended by the nursing staff and suffered massive brain injury when the tube became clogged and she was deprived of oxygen.
Abridged
SOURCE: Washington Injury Attorney Blog
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More Recent Posts from Spotlight on Elder Abuse
August 30, 2008
by The Farber Law Group
Herbert Farber, in association with Renton attorney Todd Gardner, recently settled a claim with Extendicare, the owner and operator of the North Auburn Rehabilitation Center. At Extendicare's request, the amount of the settlement is confidential. Herbert Farber is the founder of The Farber Law Group, a firm located in Bellevue, Washington that has more than 30 years experience in representing clients who have suffered nursing home neglect. The suit was on behalf of the estate of a 74 year old Alzheimer's patient who was admitted in to North Auburn Rehabilitation following hip surgery. When the patient was admitted she did not have any skin breaks or pressure sores, however due to neglectful care she quickly developed stage III and IV decubitus ulcers (pressure sores) on her coccyx (tail bone) and on both of her ankles. These are common areas for pressure sores to develop and are easily avoidable with proper care of the patient, which includes frequent turning and other preventative measures.As we reported on this blog site last week, another suit has been filed against another Extendicare facility, Aldercrest Rehabilitation Center in Edmonds, Washington. In that case, it is alleged that a 48 year old stroke patient who had a tracheotomy was left unattended by the nursing staff and suffered massive brain injury when the tube became clogged and she was deprived of oxygen.
Abridged
SOURCE: Washington Injury Attorney Blog
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