Nurse Aides Arrested for Elder Abuse (NY USA)

January 31, 2009

(Rochester, N.Y.) - Two health care workers have been arrested for abusing nursing home residents in separate incidents.

Monique Jones, 32, of Rochester, allegedly kicked an 88-year-old resident in the ribs at the Kirkhaven Nursing Home on Alexander Street in Rochester.

Jones was employed as a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) at the time.

Nellie Weller, 47, of Rochester, has been accused of tying a 76-year-old resident’s nightgown around his neck and legs, immobilizing him.

Weller was working as a CNA at the Edna Tina Wilson Living Center on Island Cottage Road in Greece.

Both were arraigned Thursday.

SOURCE:   13WHAM-TV - Rochester,NY,USA

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More Elderly People Tell of Abuse (New Zealand)

By JANINE RANKIN

 Manawatu Standard

30 January 2009

Elder abuse reports are spiralling in Manawatu, with Age Concern investigating six new cases in the first three days of this week alone.

"It's been full-on since we got back on January 12," said elder abuse and neglect prevention co- ordinator Rachel Ellery.

"It has just gone through the roof."

Reported cases went up more than fourfold in the last six months of 2008 compared with the first half of the year, up from 34 to 143.

Of those cases in the second half of the year, 62 needed ongoing support.

Manager Sue Gould said when staff returned to work after the New Year break, they were confronted with 77 phone messages and 150 emails all requesting help, including cases for the Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention service.

Last year, almost all of the rest homes in Manawatu and Tararua took part in Age Concern's elder abuse and neglect training scheme.

Alerting more caregivers to the signs and symptoms of abuse in its many forms had sparked increased reporting.

"There's also an increased level of self-awareness and referrals from other agencies, with people seeking information, advice and advocacy."

Have Your Say
Have you been affected? Write to the editor at PO Box 3, Palmerston North, email editor@msl.co.nz, text 027 498 1242, or post your comments below.

SOURCE:    Stuff.co News

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Albany Man Indicted On Charges of Elder Abuse (NY USA)

By PAUL NELSON  January 28, 2009

ALBANY — A city man has been arraigned on felony robbery and assault charges for allegedly attacking a 66-year-old woman. The indictment accuses Martin Sherman, 42, of restraining the woman, stealing her money and assaulting her sometime between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Sherman was arraigned on a count each of robbery and assault, both in the second-degree, before being sent back to Albany County Jail. If convicted, Sherman faces 15 years in prison. The woman suffered bruises and scrapes to her knees and head.

Source:   Albany Times Union

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Man Gets 5 Years in Prison For Elder Abuse (CA. USA)

Man gets 5 years in prison for elder abuse

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

January 28, 2009 

A man who targeted older Lodi residents in a driveway resurfacing scam was sentenced Tuesday to five years in state prison.

Thomas Stanley, of Indiana, pleaded guilty to two counts of elder abuse in Lodi, though he must pay nearly $15,000 in restitution to four separate victims, San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Sherri Adams said.

The prison sentence, especially for a non-violent crime, satisfied Lodi Police Detective Lee Patterson, who first got the case a year ago and began tracking the suspects, who moved from state to state.

In January 2007, victims began calling police to report that they had agreed to have their driveways or sidewalks resurfaced, but the work was shoddy. The workers used cheap concrete intended for filling in post holes.

For the full story, please see Thursday's News-Sentinel.

Report Abuse

Abridged

SOURCE:   Lodi News-Sentinel

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Caregiver Acquitted of Elder Abuse (OH. USA)

Caregiver acquitted in elder abuse case

By Lauren Pack

Staff Writer

January 29, 2009HAMILTON — A Butler County jury acquitted a caregiver accused of abusing an elderly Middletown woman.

Abena Afrakomah, 57, of West Chester Twp. and a Ghana native, was on trial for allegedly pinching and scratching Josephine Crawford at her home in April.

Crawford, who died in November of illness, told her granddaughter and Middletown police that Afrakomah was "punishing" her for having sex with evil spirits.

The Butler County Common Pleas Court jury at the Government Services Center in Hamilton deliberated for more than four hours Wednesday, Jan. 28, in Hamilton, before returning the not guilty verdict.

Defense attorney Larry Keller pointed to inconsistencies in Crawford's statements about how the abuse occurred.

The 74-year-old woman was taking medication for multiple illnesses that may have clouded her judgment and made her prone to hallucinations, the defense witnesses said.

Keller also noted the victim "couldn't tell the same story twice" about what happened to her, which caused reasonable doubt in the case.

Abridged

SOURCE:   Middletown Journal - OH,USA

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Law to Make Elderly 'Secure' (India)

	By Vibhor Mohan, TNN
	29 Jan 2009
CHANDIGARH: With family bonds weakening and respect for elders gradually disappearing from among the younger generation, law has come to the  rescue of senior citizens.  Acting on the guidelines of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007, abandoning parents or childless relatives above 60 years of age has been made a punishable offence in Chandigarh, which can invite an imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of Rs 5,000.  A notification to this effect has been issued by home secretary Ram Niwas, who is also the secretary, social welfare.  The states of Punjab, Tripura, Maharashtra, Goa and Himachal Pradesh have already implemented the Act with retrospective effect from August 27, 2008.  According to it, any senior citizen who is unable to bear the expenses of his basic needs, from his own earning or from property owned by him, will be entitled to make an application against one or more of his children or grandchildren, who are not minors. A childless senior citizen can file a case against his relatives.  It further states that children are obligated to provide basic amenities like food, clothing, residence, medical attendance and treatment to their parents.  More so, to ensure its effective implementation, sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) have been authorized to sit in judgment for cases from their jurisdiction, as maintenance tribunals and appeals against the orders passed by them can be made to the DC, who has been made the appellate authority.  It states, ‘’If children or relatives of applicants fail to comply with the orders, the Tribunal may, for every breach of the order, issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for levying of fines and if the maintenance remains unpaid, may imprison the accused for a term which may extend to one month.’’  The Act further reads, ‘’If children or relatives neglect or refuse to maintain a senior citizen, the Tribunal may, on being satisfied of such neglect or refusal, order such children or relatives to make a monthly allowance at a monthly rate for the maintenance of elderly, as the Tribunal may deem fit.’’  The law extends to the whole of India, except Jammu and Kashmir, and applies to all citizens outside the country. However, it will come into effect only after the government issues a gazette notification. SOURCE:  Times of India ---------------------------------------------- Click for Updates, More Cases and Resources

Attempted Murder Charge In Case of Elder Abuse

01/28/-9

A Royalton woman is accused of attempting to suffocate an elderly family member overnight Monday.

Deborah A. Kozody, 49, of Royalton Center Road, was charged Tuesday by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office with second-degree attempted murder. She was arraigned in Royalton Town Court and sent to County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond. A psychiatric evaluation also was ordered by the court.

The victim, whose gender was not revealed, suffered injuries but was not hospitalized, deputies said.

“It’s a very sad case of elderly abuse in an assisted-living situation,” Chief Deputy Steven Preish said. “When someone starts caring for someone, there’s a lot of stress. We hear about it all the time. We just don’t normally hear about it in our own backyard, in Niagara County.”

Details of the attack were not revealed. A friend of the victim alerted authorities, Preish said.

SOURCE:  Buffalo News - NY, United States

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Reported Cases of Elderly Abuse On the Rise (New Zealand)

Reported cases of elderly abuse on the rise

By KIM THOMAS

The Press

28 January 2009

 Suspected abuse and neglect of the elderly have risen by a third in just three years, new figures show.

The jump in notifications of abuse to social agency Age Concern has prompted calls for tougher sanctions against family members and caregivers who physically, financially or emotionally abuse the elderly.

During the 2007-08 financial year, Age Concern received almost 1500 notifications of suspected abuse or neglect nationwide. Of these, more than 700 were substantiated. The number of abuse and neglect notifications in 2005/06 was 1100. Six hundred of these cases were substantiated.

In the Canterbury region there has been a 40 per cent increase in the past year of concerned family members, friends and neighbours calling Age Concern about suspected abuse.

Age Concern elder abuse professional adviser Jayne McKendry said real levels of abuse and neglect were unknown. The elderly were often reluctant to report abusers, who in 80 per cent of cases were family members. Age Concern was working with the Families Commission and the Ministry of Social Development to raise awareness of issue.

Canterbury police family violence expert Sergeant Jim Sole said New Zealand was lagging behind the United States and Canada in its understanding and approach to abuse of the elderly. Those countries ran advertisements promoting awareness of elder abuse and encouraging people to report it, he said.

"In New Zealand we don't seem to acknowledge or identify it for what it is."

Police were sometimes made aware of elderly mothers being abused by their adult sons but it was very difficult to get the women to press charges and to compile evidence.

Abridged

SOURCE:     Stuff.co NZ

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Man Accused of Killing Father (IL. USA)

Glendale Heights man accused of killing father

January 27, 2009

A 44-year-old Glendale Heights man who DuPage prosecutors called "a lifelong unemployed drug abuser" was charged with the murder of his 79-year-old father, authorities said this morning.

Bail was set this morning at $2 million for George Panos Jr. by Judge Brian Diamond.

Assistant State's Atty. Joseph Ruggiero said that George Panos Sr. was suffocated as he slept in his bedroom in the family home in the 1600 block of Paul Avenue.

Ruggiero said the death was originally called in by the defendant as a natural death, but four people have come forward to police claiming the defendant made recent death threats against his father.

After an autopsy indicated the death was not natural, the son confessed.

Ruggiero told Diamond of the defendant's long criminal record, including convictions for drug and sex offenses and at least three prison sentences.

He is charged with first-degree murder and, if convicted, faces up to life in prison.

SOURCE:   Chicago Tribune

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Woman With Dementia 'Suffered Burns' - Carers Charged (UK)

Woman with dementia 'suffered burns when carers put her on hot commode'

26 Jan 2009

An 87-year-old woman with dementia suffered third degree burns when care home staff put her on a commode of hot water, a court heard.

Violet Smith was taken to hospital with severe burns to 4 per cent of her body after a registered nurse and two care assistants tried to treat her constipation and haemorrhoids by placing her over the water, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Andrea Garrick, 38, Jodie Atkinson, 22, and Danielle Schofield, 22, are charged with wilfully neglecting Mrs Smith, who had been a patient at the Charlton Centre for Alzheimer's and Dementia, on Carlinghow Hill, in Batley, West Yorkshire, since 2000.

Peter Moulson, opening the case for the prosecution, said Mrs Smith was admitted to hospital the day after the incident, in January 2008, with burns to her bottom, thighs, genitals and anus.

He said she was assessed as having suffered third degree burns to some 4 per cent of her body surface, which deepened to become full-thickness burns within two days.

Mr Moulson told the court the burns were found to be consistent with either immersion in hot water or being placed over a confined area of steam from "exceptionally" hot water.

Abridged

SOURCE:   The Telegraph (UK)

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