Those With Dementia Are People, Not Objects (UK)

Those With Dementia Are People, Not Objects (UK)

Today’s real oldies are the people, in their 80s or 90s, who have outlived the Saga Generation, grown frail, lost their marbles, and ended up dependent on carers. And theirs is the most unenviable lot. They are sometimes the victims of what is known as Elder Abuse, occasionally inflicted on them by professional carers but more often, and more shockingly, by their own children.

In the United States, it has been estimated that five per cent of old people are mistreated in some way; and the consensus among the experts is that most elder abuse – physical, financial, psychological or even sexual – is carried out by relatives.
The fact that somebody as rich and famous as the late Brooke Astor, the New York socialite and philanthropist, could, after passing the age of 100, be defrauded by her only son, made to sleep on a urine-stained sofa, prevented from seeing her pet dogs, and forced to live on a diet of mushy peas, shows that nobody is secure against such ill-treatment. And so it is in Britain, where the charity Action on Elder Abuse has estimated that 53 per cent of theft, fraud and deception against elderly people is committed by their children.
Their treatment in care homes has also been under scrutiny, most notably in the recent BBC television documentaries by the tycoon-turned-philanthropist Gerry Robinson. Robinson investigated care homes for the demented and found that the staff in many of them were lacking any real sympathy for the residents. “It isn’t the quality of the curtains or the colour of the carpet or even the fact that it doesn’t smell that are important,” he said. “Those aren’t the things that matter. What matters is the loving care that is given.”
It requires huge patience and commitment by carers to devote loving care to people who are often cantankerous and ungrateful and seem to have no good reason to want to go on living. But as Robinson showed, even the demented can be made quite happy by being given simple things to do. He showed us a crippled old man who had a job spraying motor cars and who was lifted out of boredom and depression by being given a paintbrush and paint and a piece of board on which to slap it.

Elder Abuse, occasionally inflicted on them by professional carers but more often, and more shockingly, by their own children.
In the United States, it has been estimated that five per cent of old people are mistreated in some way; and the consensus among the experts is that most elder abuse – physical, financial, psychological or even sexual – is carried out by relatives.

The fact that somebody as rich and famous as the late Brooke Astor, the New York socialite and philanthropist, could, after passing the age of 100, be defrauded by her only son, made to sleep on a urine-stained sofa, prevented from seeing her pet dogs, and forced to live on a diet of mushy peas, shows that nobody is secure against such ill-treatment.


And so it is in Britain, where the charity Action on Elder Abuse has estimated that 53 per cent of theft, fraud and deception against elderly people is committed by their children.

Then this week came the upsetting revelation in a report for the Royal College of Physicians that thousands of old people are being forced to have feeding tubes implanted in their stomachs if they want to be admitted to care homes. “This is a widespread problem,” said Dr Rodney Burnham, the chairman of the working group that produced the report. “Many care homes say they will not take a patient until they have had a gastrostomy. There is no reason for them to do that. They should have nursing support.”
But it does sound like further evidence of a tendency to treat the demented as objects rather than as people, especially in this case by depriving them of one of their few remaining pleasures, which is eating and doing so in company. The report claims that the practice of force-feeding old people through tubes in their stomachs does not even prolong their lives. But even if it did, what would be the point?

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Telegraph, UK

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Woman Accused of Elder Abuse ( CA. USA)

Lompoc woman accused of elder abuse
January 13, 2010
A Lompoc woman suspected of stealing more than $10,000 from an elderly client may have defrauded other victims, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.

The caregiver, identified as Christina Dee Bailon, 38, had been working for an 88-year-old Goleta woman in Santa Barbara, when the victim’s accountant notified authorities of the alleged theft, officials said.
Bailon is suspected of stealing $10,580 from the victim by taking unused checks and cashing more than a dozen of them, according to law enforcement.
Detectives are investigating whether Bailon defrauded any other victims, and the Sheriff’s Department has requested that anyone with information call 681-4150 or contact the anonymous tip line at 681-4171.
Bailon was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, forgery and financial elder abuse, and her bail was set at $250,000.
Background checks and verified references are recommended when hiring a caregiver, sheriff’s officials said.



SOURCE:    Santa Maria Times
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Rules to Protect Elders Notified (INDIA)

Rules to Protect Elders Notified (INDIA)

By Ajitha Karthikeyan,
TNN
7 January 2010

CHENNAI:    Moving a step ahead in geriatric care, the state government has notified rules for the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior 

Citizens Act, 2007, becoming the ninth state in the country to enforce the Central legislation. As per the rules framed by the state, those who neglect their aged parents or fail to provide for their upkeep will have to face imprisonment up to three months or a penalty of Rs 5,000 or both.

Though the Act, aimed at addressing the disturbing trend of children abandoning their parents and providing a speedy and inexpensive legal framework to grant maintenance to senior citizens, was notified in the state gazette in September 2008, it had taken more than a year for the rules to be framed and notified.

The law says children — the term includes son, daughter, grandson and grand-daughter who are not minors — are liable to provide maintenance to their parents, both biological and adoptive. Maintenance is defined as providing for food, clothing, residence and medical attendance and treatment. 


Abridged
SOURCE:     The Times of India
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Predatory Lending Targetting Seniors (USA)

By SCOTT JAMES
January 8, 2010

Giuseppa Bagnarol, 82, was in her final hours in August, dying at home surrounded by the large family she presided over as matriarch.
They gathered to say goodbye at the bucolic Redwood City retreat Mrs. Bagnarol had created — a compound of three homes cascading down a steep hillside where she raised chickens. Some of her children and grandchildren live on the grounds.
But that night an unwanted visitor arrived: a process server delivered papers that ordered Mrs. Bagnarol and her family to get out. The bank had foreclosed on their property, and they were all being evicted.
Emotions exploded. Not now, the family cursed. A sheriff’s deputy was called to keep the peace. Mrs. Bagnarol died a day later.
But the unfortunate timing of the official visit was not the only source of the anger. More troubling were the financial deals that led to the visit — and the decision by lenders to sign Mrs. Bagnarol up for one exotic mortgage after another.
“It’s definitely elder abuse,” said Carolina Bagnarol, her daughter. “There’s predatory lending here.”
Ms. Bagnarol has filed a lawsuit against a lengthy list of lenders she said took advantage of her mother. The loans plunged her mother deeper into debt with each mortgage payment, to the point of financial ruin. The lawsuit contends that Mrs. Bagnarol was pursued and persuaded — twice over — to take out ultimately disastrous loans on the family’s property.
In recent years, 70 percent of the elderly have been solicited to take out new mortgages, according to a survey by AARP.
“Older people seem to be targeted in part because they own their houses and have owned them for a long time and have equity in their houses,” said Jean Constantine-Davis, senior lawyer for the AARP Foundation.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The New York Times

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Con Man Gets Prison, After He Bilked An Elderly Couple (USA)

Con man gets prison; Sacramento couple he bilked face two foreclosures
By Andy Furillo
January 10, 2010
The crook and one-time killer who bilked Patsy and Oliver Davis out of $172,000 is going to prison, and the elderly couple have since moved into a rebuilt home built with the muscle of area volunteers.
But this isn’t a story with a feel-good ending for the Davises. The retirees who found themselves ripped off in a contractor scam say the events of the past 3 1/2 years have turned their golden years into what Patsy Davis, 70, called a “nightmare.”
“I just wish I could get some money,” she said in an interview Friday, after Keith Lidell McGowan,the Antelope man who sweet-talked, prayed and stole from them, was ordered to spend the next 10 years and four months of his life in state prison.
“We don’t have money, that’s the worst part. He took all of our money. He took everything we had. We don’t have anything,” Patsy Davis said.

Patsy and Oliver Davis, 89, are neither McGowan’s first nor his most abused victims.

Abridged
SOURCE:    SACBEE.COM

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Roseville Man Suspected of Bilking 87-Year-Old Arrested (USA)

January 8, 2010
By Chelsea Phua

Placer County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a 30-year-old Roseville man they say bilked an 87-year-old Auburn woman of $13,500.
Leron Anthony Stephenson was arrested Wednesday on charges of elder abuse, operating without a contractor’s license, grand theft and burglary.
Authorities said Stephenson had cashed six checks from the victim’s account that totaled $13,500. Employees at the victim’s bank became suspicious and alerted authorities. Deputies contacted the victim, who said she had given Stephenson four blank checks, to be cashed at $500 each, after he had removed trees from her property. She said the work has not been done and she did not know how Stephenson obtained the extra checks.
Authorities said Stephenson endeared himself to the victim by giving her a picture of his family and buying her a plant.

Abridged
SOURCE:   SACBEE.COM
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Woman Accused of Elder Abuse ( CA. USA)

Lompoc woman accused of elder abuse
January 13, 2010
A Lompoc woman suspected of stealing more than $10,000 from an elderly client may have defrauded other victims, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.

The caregiver, identified as Christina Dee Bailon, 38, had been working for an 88-year-old Goleta woman in Santa Barbara, when the victim’s accountant notified authorities of the alleged theft, officials said.
Bailon is suspected of stealing $10,580 from the victim by taking unused checks and cashing more than a dozen of them, according to law enforcement.
Detectives are investigating whether Bailon defrauded any other victims, and the Sheriff’s Department has requested that anyone with information call 681-4150 or contact the anonymous tip line at 681-4171.
Bailon was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, forgery and financial elder abuse, and her bail was set at $250,000.
Background checks and verified references are recommended when hiring a caregiver, sheriff’s officials said.



SOURCE:    Santa Maria Times
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Aged Care: Extra Respite Funding (AUSTRALIA)

14/01/2010

The Australian Government will give more than $4 million in grants to 269 services providing respite to carers throughout the country.
The Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot made the announcement at the SOS Nursing and Home Care respite cottage in Tamworth which will receive over $12,000 for furnishing and equipment.
The funding is being made available through the National Respite for Carers Program (NRCP), which will provide more than $200 million to service organisations around Australia in 2010.
“Carers across this nation play an important role in Australian society,” said Mrs Elliot.
“They dedicate so much to improve the quality of the lives of our nation’s elderly and for people with disabilities.
“Caring for someone full time is physically and emotionally demanding and carers need to be able to take deserved breaks.”
Close to 2.6 million Australians provide care for family members or friends. Of these about 500,000 are primary carers, who provide the majority of the care.
The $4 million in grants will be used for minor building modifications and to purchase or replace equipment.
“I hear first hand how these important services assist families and carers,” said Mrs Elliot.
“Respite can allow the carer to go to work for a few hours, go to the shops or socialise with friends.”

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Australian Ageing Agenda
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Elder Abuse Alliance Preps Clergy Training Program (PA. USA)

BY DUSTIN PANGONIS (STAFF WRITER)
January 9, 2010
A county group wants to enlist clergy as counselors to help combat elder abuse in Schuylkill County.
The Schuylkill Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance will offer training sessions to local clergy as part of its effort to train groups that have daily involvement with senior citizens.
“Our goal is to meet with the clergy to advise them how we think they can identify, report, and hopefully prevent elder abuse in Schuylkill County,” Alliance Chairman Eric Mika said at the group’s Friday meeting at Providence Place, 2200 First Ave., Pottsville.
Mika said the Alliance has previously offered training sessions to three other target groups that often deal with the elderly: law enforcement, financial services and medical professionals.
Monsignor William F. Glosser, alliance member and pastor at St. Clare of Assisi, Saint Clair, said a presentation will be held at the Schuylkill Deanery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown’s meeting Feb. 10.

Abridged

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Plea For More Cash For Care Homes (UK)

January 14, 2010

A DEMENTIA campaigner has lobbied budget-makers to pay more for elderly care homes.
Mike Vango, 66, chairman of a Bay dementia carers group, said Torbay was falling short of funding residential and nursing homes.
And that is leading to cuts in care.
He said: “You are looking at £150 to £250 a person per week to fund a place at a good care home and that is more than the available funding in Torbay.”
He was speaking to Torbay Council’s policies and resources committee as it looks at the £41.2million budget for adult social care for next year.
Mr Vango’s speech comes as Bay dementia home Woodland House came under the spotlight in a TV documentary Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia.
Perceived shortfalls highlighted in the documentary are to be discussed with Torbay Care Trust bosses on Friday.
Clare Hunter, of the Torbay Quality Care Forum, told the meeting Torbay spent £44 a week per person below the average spent in the South West.

Abridged
SOURCE:     South Devon Country, UK

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