No more senior abuse

I was going to write today about resources for seniors to stay in their home, but I have to pause for a public service announcement. We'll resume our normal programming following this message.

I read about 80 blogs a day, some real estate and some boomer/sandwich generation/elder blogs.  One of my favorites, GenBetween wrote about a disturbing scene she witnessed regarding an older couple and what appeared to be somone hired to be with them and help them through the store, likely somone from a licensed agency. Instead of being attentive to her charge's needs, (DINNER!) she sat at a table talking on her cell phone, oblivious to what was going on around her.

The home health care agencies in Minnesota I work with are all very good at what they do.  They are conscientious and they care.  Their shortcoming is that they cannot supervise their employees while working with their clients.  So, unfortunately, occasionally scenes such as those described in this GenBetween post do occur. 

Thanks to Elizabeth at GenBetween I now KNOW what I'll do when I'm out in the community and come across a senior who is being mistreated or neglected.  Here's my plan:

1) Find out the name of the company the nursing assistant/home health aide/hired person works for.

2) Get the name of the hired person or one of the elderly people.  This can happen through casual conversation by approaching one of the seniors and asking them in a  non-confrontational way, or you might get lucky and the hired person might have on a name tag.

3) Call the agency directly to report the incident, and get the name of the person I've reported it to.  Then call a couple of days later to see what's happened. 

4) Depending on the circumstances, make a report to the county.  Each county in Minnesota has a phone number you can call to report abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult.  (Definition of a vulnerable adult: A person 18 years of age or older who: is a resident or impatient of a facility, receives services from a licensed facility or a licensed home care provider; however, regardless if they are receiving services or reside in a facility, they possess a physical or mental infirmity or other physical, mental, or emotional dysfunction that impairs the individuals' ability to adequately provide for their own care). 

Hennepin County 612-348-8526 TD 612-348-6725
Ramsey County 651-266-4012. after hours 651-291-6795.
Dakota County 651-554-6424
Washington County 651-430-6484
Anoka County 763-422-7168
Scott County 952-445-7751

Here are some other examples that would warrant a call to your local county adult protective services:

• An elderly person with Alzheimer’s disease who is about to have their electricity shut off because they forgot to pay the bill
• A person with a developmental disability whose roommate misuses their Social Security funds so there isn't enough money to buy groceries, pay bills and cook meals.
• A confused and physically disabled person who refuses medical care despite urging from friends and relatives.
• A person with mental illness being cared for by a friend or relative who is not receiving adequate food, clothing or necessary medical care.
• Children “borrowing” money from an elderly parent, who then lives in a cold house to save money.
• A person who has become disoriented and cannot manage the tasks of daily living, with dirty dishes, filthy clothes and other debris piling up and becoming hazardous to their health.

There's a psychology to not reaching out and helping others in need when it's in a public space.  We're likely to think "someone else will do it."  The problem is, everyone else is thinking there's a "somone else" and there's really no one else.  I've decided I'm going to be the someone else, if for no other reason that I would want someone to be the someone else for my parents.

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Comments

[Carol Bradley Bursack]

Bravo! You are right on. It's too easy to just stand and feel helpless. I live in North Dakota, and we, too, have good agencies. But, as you say, they can't be always supervising their employees on the job. They try to hire well, but a poor hire can happen. The agency needs to be notified if their staff is not doing a good job. Thanks for a good post and to Elizabeth at GenBetween for her caring post.