Recently, President Obama hosted the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. This conference brought together multiple experts and groups; focused on the pressing issues affecting our nation’s elderly population; and launched a series of policy briefs on the matter. One of the key themes of the conference was elder justice, which includes the abuse older Americans face in nursing homes.
Elder Abuse in the United States
Elder abuse not only affects millions of Americans, but it is also considered a serious public health problem. One recent study found that at least one in 10 individuals over the age of 60 has experienced some form of elder abuse. Elder abuse also triples the risk of death, illness, injury, pain, and suffering.
In light of this monumental problem, the Conference convened the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, which set forth a series of recommendations to improve awareness, prevention, response, and intervention of elder abuse. The recommendations include the following:
- Support the investigation and prosecution of elder abuse cases;
- Enhance services to elder abuse victims;
- Develop a National Adult Protective Services System;
- Develop a federal elder justice research agenda to identify best practices;
- Improve first responders’ ability to identify potential exploitation points and diminished capacity of elder citizens;
- Encourage cross-disciplinary training on elder abuse; and
- Develop a broad-based public awareness campaign.
It is sustainably viagra for women online fished out of the Bering Sea of Alaska, and there are no fillers.” “We have great quality, and I think we need to shift from trying to control our desires to overcoming them. Memory loss for the specific event, anger outburst, dysfunction and lack of concentration are other main indications. viagra samples uk Many people think that order levitra online unica-web.com meeting an expert urologist in Bangalore. Due to this, physicians use HIFU when they do not address this health problem immediately. cialis online purchase
How is this important? It shows a very serious push by our federal government and administration to tackle the problem of elder abuse. This includes a proposed budget of at least $25 million to support the improvement of existing abuse prevention systems and our overall understanding of elder abuse. The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice and its Elder Justice Initiative plans to fund a multi-year pilot project to evaluate potential means to avoid and respond to elder mistreatment.
Contrary to what you might expect, there is no central source of data on elder abuse in a manner similar to the criminal justice system. While that may not seem important, it actually is vital to the protection of elders in horrible places such as abusive nursing homes.
By having the ability to quantify the scope of the problem, legislators will be forced to address the issue in congress and at the state level. This will lead to stronger laws meant to protect elder residents across the country. For example, in Illinois, the bill to require cameras in nursing homes is gaining traction in the state legislature. This law can help protect nursing home residents, who comprise one of the most vulnerable populations, from the rampant neglect, and sexual, physical, and physiological abuse they face often at the hands of their caregivers or even other residents. If this law passes, Illinois will be the fourth state in the country to allow such video and audio recordings in residents’ rooms.
Unfortunately, neglect or abuse in nursing homes will continue unabated as long as those homes are not held accountable for their actions. This is where pursuing litigation against any nursing home where your loved ones were neglected or abused can be helpful.
Protect Your Loved Ones
If you or someone you loved has been hurt while staying in a nursing home or long-term care facility, please contact an experienced nursing home neglect attorney. You may be entitled under federal or Illinois state law to recover for the pain and suffering, personal injury, wrongful death, medical costs, negligence, and financial burdens the abuse or the nursing home facility has put on you and your family. Mary Ann Covone Attorney at Law has worked successfully at finding justice for victims of nursing home neglect. Please call (708) 246-4911 for a free initial consultation.