elder abuse: a women's issue - OWL-National Older Women's League

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Elder Abuse: A Women’s IssueAshley B. Carson, J.D.Executive Director, OWL –The Voice of Midlife and Older WomenIn America, we all emphatically agree that everyonehas the right to live free from violence, abuse, neglectand exploitation regardless of their gender, race or age.Yet domestic and institutional elder abuse, neglectand exploitation cause serious harm to anywhere from500,000 to 5 million individuals every year. 1 Womenmake up approximately 66% of elder abuse victimsin the United States, and 89% of the cases of abuseoccurred in a domestic setting. 2 OWL believes that theabuse of older women is an under-recognized crisis, acrisis that is exacerbated by the stigma related to abuseand the many types of oppression that continue to affectwomen during their lives, making them more vulnerableto the abuse. The same women who fought to eliminatechild abuse and put an end to domestic violence arenow finding themselves the victims of various forms ofabuse. This is unacceptable, and the women of OWLwill not tolerate it.Since OWL’s inception we have been highlightingthe serious situations women face as they age. Elderabuse is believed to occur due to a multitude of factors,all of which disproportionately affect women. “Despitethe rapid aging of America, few pressing social issueshave been as systematically ignored as elder abuse,neglect, and exploitation, as illustrated by the followingpoints: Twenty-five years of congressional hearings onthe devastating effects of elder abuse, called the issue a‘disgrace’ and a ‘burgeoning national scandal.’ To date,there still is not a federal law enacted to address elderabuse in a comprehensive manner.” 3 Despite continuedefforts the Elder Abuse Prevention Act of 2006 andthe Elder Justice Act of 2008 failed to pass. There alsois not a single federal employee working full-time onelder abuse in America. 4 The costs of elder abuse to ourcountry include unnecessary human suffering, highhealth care costs and exhaustion of public resources. 5The leadership of OWL believes that one of the biggestbarriers to addressing the issue of elder abuse is that" The same women who fought toeliminate child abuse and put an endto domestic violence are now findingthemselves the victims of various formsof abuse. This is unacceptable, andthe women of OWL will not tolerate it. "the American public is unaware of the severity of theproblem and its effect on women. Experts in the field ofelder abuse prevention compare the current knowledgeof and response to elder abuse to the state of child abusea generation ago. 6In the twenty years spanning from 1980-2000, therehas been a dramatic increase in physical abuse of olderadults. 7 As the number of elderly or vulnerable adultsincreases in America, the movement to combat elderabuse is slowly gaining momentum and attractingthe attention of federal and state governments. It isestimated that in the 50-year span from 2000 to 2050,the number of Americans who are over 85 years old willmore than quadruple, increasing from 4.2 million to20.8 million. 8Advocates have been attempting to address elderabuse for the last thirty years, gathering informationand trying to direct the public’s attention to the severityand prevalence of this issue in our society. There is stilla major shortage of data relating to elder abuse, neglectand fraud. OWL believes that it is time to view thisissue as a women’s issue. While elder abuse affects manymen in the US, it affects women three times more.In April 1981 the House Select Committee on Agingestimated that 4% of adults over age 65 were victimsof abuse. This report also stated that the total numberof abused elderly is nearly equal to the nation’s entirenursing home population. 9 Now it is estimated thatbetween one and two million people age 65 or olderhave been exploited, injured, or otherwise mistreated bysomeone whom they depend on for care. 10The Prevention, Identification, and Treatment ofElder Abuse Act of 1981 was introduced to address thisserious issue. The bill was designed to encourage statesto make legislative changes to reach a federal minimum6
" Women will not sit idly by and watch otherwomen suffer from the effects of abuseand neglect in the twilight of their lives. "standard of protection, but it was not passed into law. 11Four years later, another report on elder abuse wasreleased estimating that one out of every twenty-fiveelders, or 1.1 million people, were subject to elder abuseeach year. 12 This report and the earlier report from 1984recommend that an elder abuse act be designed similarto the 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.The 1984 report compared the amount of money thatstates were spending on the protection of children withthe amount spent on elderly protection, and found thatstates were spending $22.14 per child and $2.91 perelder resident. 13 Throughout the 1990s, similar reportswere written, and studies showed both increases inelder abuse and a greater need for ways to deal with theproblem. However, there was not any federal progressmade and the recommendations from the 1980s remainfairly accurate to today’s needs. According to a reportreleased by the Congressional Research Service earlierthis year, out of the total federal dollars spent on abuseand neglect, 2% is spent on elder abuse, 7% on domesticabuse and 91% on child abuse. 14In 2007 the Elder Justice Act was introduced bySenator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), supporting effortstowards raising national awareness on elder justiceissues; improving the quality, quantity and accessibilityof information; increasing knowledge and supportingpromising projects; developing forensic capacity;Institutional NeglectRuth an 89 year old woman, was in fairly good health when she entered an Iowa nursing home for physicaltherapy in 2008. When she left to return home 25 days later, the woman’s leg was rotting and consumed bygangrene and she died three months later. State and federal officials called this neglect, and fined the nursinghome $112,650. The nursing home owner is fighting back. He runs a lobbying organization and is complainingabout the fine to Iowa legislators. Stating that the inspections department is “flogging” nursing homes andblocking seniors’ access to care by imposing huge fines.Only a year prior to her death, Ruth was in good spirits and good health. Twice widowed, she lived alone in awell maintained independent apartment where she liked to crochet. She had recently renewed her driver’s licenseand had just returned from a trip to California, where she traveled by herself to visit her daughter. She was alifelong pianist and played on a regular basis from memory. She fell and fractured a bone in her left ankle. Herdoctors didn’t think that a cast was needed and they put her leg in a brace with a medical stocking and sent herto a short-term rehab nursing facility.Ruth’s doctors gave the nursing facility instructions to monitor the circulation in her leg and to check herskin every shift for any signs of swelling or redness. Over the month, Ruth complained of excruciating pain. Thestaff gave her pain medication but never evaluated the cause of her pain or checked her leg. Finally, a physicaltherapy aide noticed that Ruth’s leg smelled like “rotting meat” and noticed blood seeping through her stocking.When Ruth was rushed to a local hospital, it appeared that the wound dressing from the original hospital visithad never been changed. Ruth was diagnosed with gangrene and Doctors told her that they had to amputate herleg. Her leg was amputated below the knee, her condition deteriorated and she died shortly thereafter.The nursing facility acknowledged that they never removed the stocking, nor was Ruth examined by aPhysician during her 25 day stay at the nursing facility. Additionally, this wasn’t the first time this particularfacility had been fined for serious problems.Provided to OWL by NCCNHR - The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long Term CareSource: Article by Clark Kauffman, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, November 16, 20087
Page 5 and 6: Table of ContentsA Message From the
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummaryThe Center of Exce
Page 9: and pursued by a handful of dedicat
Page 13 and 14: are successful in educating the pub
Page 15 and 16: Child Abuse Prevention Act, there i
Page 17 and 18: 39 Bonnie, supra Note 15 p. 516.40
Page 19 and 20: women may result in greater injury,
Page 21 and 22: clearer understanding of elderly wo
Page 23 and 24: Who commits this abuse?What is part
Page 25 and 26: • Use direct deposit for benefit
Page 27 and 28: Elder Justice Legislative UpdateRob
Page 29 and 30: Floor Statements by Senator Hatchan
Page 31 and 32: Medication, Abuse and Neglect:A Con
Page 33 and 34: The Role of MedicationMismanagement
Page 35 and 36: Few Americans are aware of the weal
Page 37: There is no age requirement to join

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