Advocates: Elder abuse allegations need police investigation

Nursing home advocates are citing examples of cases that fell between the cracks for years as examples of why the present system of handling elder abuse allegations requires change in Texas.

Their primary concern is the lack of police investigation when an allegation of elder abuse is made. The lack of coordination has resulted in cases lingering for years in the system. It also appears that the classification used for cases may fail to offer sufficient protection.

Currently, elder abuse allegations are handled by an agency unless found to be serious. If a case is then considered "priority one", a joint investigation is done with local police. However, a case where a nursing aide witnessed a co-worker grab a resident from his wheelchair, slamming him into bed was deemed a priority two case. Police were called, but there was a lack of followup with statements. Although priority two cases are supposed to receive a response within 14 days, only one third presently do.

This is an egregious situation, considering that vulnerable nursing home residents remain in the same setting without any guarantee of outside help or intervention in the present system.

The advocacy group said it favors joint investigations for all abuse and neglect allegations, but such efforts could face questions about the costs and increased workload on law enforcement.

Beth Ferris of Austin, also with the nursing home advocacy group, said state law should be changed to require elder abuse training for law officers.

via dallasnews.com

Delivering the best

There's another interesting post over at Rolling Around in My Head by Dave, called Stop. He writes about abuse in care systems and what it's like to work with those "who have suffered brutality and who look to see if it's in me. I am regularly in contact with those who expect the worst of me even as I struggle to deliver the best."

It's worth a read.