Newsfeed – Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The newsfeed includes articles and stories related to abuse of elders and adults with disabilities. Articles related to elders appear in the top half of the newsfeed. Articles related to abuse of adults with disabilities appear towards the bottom. To subscribe to the NCEA listserv, please send an email with your name, occupation, your organization/agency name, city and state, and a statement about your professional interest or expertise in elder abuse to NCEA@UCI.edu. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Did you know? A calendar of upcoming elder abuse and neglect events and funding opportunities can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed.
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ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED
NATIONAL, Poughkeepsie Journal, October 19, 2013
Annie’s mailbox: ex-girlfriend enabled adult children’s dependence on her
A woman’s adult children, ages 37 and 42, would go through the ex-boyfriend’s personal belongings, and live entirely off of their mother’s money the author states. Annie recommends giving the woman Adult Protective Services number in her state since the kids are unlikely to put their mother’s welfare above their own interests.
CALIFORNIA (Alameda County), SF Gate, October 21, 2013
Ex-judge gets probation in elder abuse case
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Ex-judge-gets-probation-in-elder-abuse-case-4913735.php
A former Alameda County Superior Court judge was sentenced Monday to five years of probation for mishandling a $250,000 loan from a 97-year-old neighbor and stealing a small amount of money from her. At a hearing Monday in Oakland, visiting Judge Richard Couzens ordered Paul Seeman not to live with - or act as a caregiver for - an elder or dependent adult other than family members or act as a fiduciary for anyone.
CALIFORNIA (Redlands), Redlands-Loma Linda Patch, October 22, 2013
Thieves target seniors in ‘jury duty’ scam
http://redlands.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/thieves-target-seniors-in-jury-duty-scam
Scammers are posing as law-enforcement or court officials and trying to collect fines for "failing to appear" for jury duty or a court hearing. The Redlands Police Department is warning residents, especially seniors, about phone scammers who may try to extort money by impersonating law-enforcement officials and demanding would-be victims to pay a fine for failing to appear for jury duty.
CALIFORNIA (Santa Ana), The RAFU SHIMPO, October 18, 2013
Orange county man charged with involuntary manslaughter, elder abuse
http://www.rafu.com/2013/10/orange-county-man-charged-with-involuntary-manslaughter-elder-abuse/
A pretrial hearing has been scheduled Nov. 6 in Orange County Superior Court for Robert Dickerman, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter and elder abuse, according to Chief Staff Susan Kang Schroeder of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Dickerman, 47, was arrested on Sept. 24, more than a year after the death of his 80-year-old mother, Yoshiko, on July 4, 2012 at Orange Coast Memorial Hospital, where she was taken after being found on the bathroom floor of her home on Azalea Drive in Costa Mesa.
COLORADO (Broomfield), KGWN CBS 5, October 20, 2013
Arraignment set for nurse asst. in sex abuse case
http://www.kgwn.tv/story/23739791/arraignment-set-for-nurse-asst-in-sex-abuse-case
A former nursing assistant accused of sexually assaulting three patients at a Broomfield nursing home where he worked is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 7. The Broomfield Enterprise reports the 41-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a 59-year-old, a 73-year-old and a 93-year-old while he worked at Broomfield Skilled Nursing.
DELAWARE (Sussex County), NBC 10 Philadelphia, October 22, 2013
Nursing home assistant abuses dementia patient
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Seaford-Nursing-Home-Abuse-228754001.html
A jury convicted Anne Nunemann, 29, of Sussex County, Del. of abusing an 89-year-old patient at a Seaford nursing home. Biden's office says Nunemann, a certified nursing assistant at Methodist Manor House, placed a trash bag over the woman's head as she sat in her wheelchair in February.
GEORGIA (Bibb County), The Telegraph, October 21, 2013
Caregiver accused of draining 82-year-old’s bank account
http://www.macon.com/2013/10/21/2731608/caregiver-accused-of-draining.html
Bibb County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 57-year-old Macon woman earlier this month on 41 counts of theft by deception. The caretaker is accused of writing 58 checks out to herself from the victim’s bank account, totaling $22,893.
IDAHO (Boise), KTVB, October 21, 2013
Boise woman charged with sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult
A Boise woman is in the Ada County Jail facing a felony sex abuse charge. Police arrested a 57-year-old woman on an outstanding warrant for sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
MINNESOTA (Duluth), WDIO, October 17, 2013
Caregiver fired, disciplined for alleged financial exploitation
http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S3194905.shtml?cat=10335
A caregiver formerly with the Duluth Regional Care Center has been fired and disciplined for allegedly financially exploiting a vulnerable adult under their care. According to a report by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the caregiver accepted $50 payments over several months to buy an all-terrain vehicle for the vulnerable adult.
MINNESOTA, Star Tribune, October 21, 2013
Minnesota nursing board to get scrutiny into its disciplinary practices
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/228422291.html
State lawmakers are calling for an investigation of the Minnesota Board of Nursing’s disciplinary practices, saying more needs to be done to protect patients from potentially dangerous nurses. The call for scrutiny follows a Star Tribune report Oct. 6 that the Nursing Board has forgiven or tolerated misconduct in Minnesota that would end careers in other states, based on a review of more than 1,000 disciplinary actions taken since 2010.
MINNESOTA (Coon Rapids), Crime & Courts, October 18, 2013
Anoka County vulnerable adult case to be tried under new guidelines
http://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_24340211/anoka-county-vulnerable-adult-case-be-tried-under
A case making its way through the Anoka County court system is one of the first in Minnesota under a revised state law that allows people accused of willfully neglecting vulnerable adults in their care to be charged with a felony. The Coon Rapids woman, who was her mother's live-in caregiver, faces two counts of criminal neglect, one of which is a felony. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance on the charges Nov. 19.
MINNESOTA (St. Francis), ABC Newspaper, October 19, 2013
Man accused of swindling St. Francis couple out of $52,000
http://abcnewspapers.com/2013/10/19/man-accused-swindling-st-francis-couple-52000/
Robert Lee Thompson, 28, is due back in court Oct. 24 on five felony charges, three counts of theft by swindle and one count each of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult and financial transaction card fraud. The wife alleged that Thompson never had permission to use their credit card, nor did he have access to their financial accounts, but he helps them with their business affairs along with taking care of her husband, who has medical issues.
MISSISSIPPI, Hattiesburg American, October 20, 2013
Nursing homes cited
Since 2010, Mississippi nursing homes have racked up a collective 4,542 health and fire safety violations, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Of them, 167 were considered especially serious, posing immediate jeopardy to residents’ well-being. It’s a systemic failure of the nursing home industry — and one that’s not unique to Mississippi — the result in large part of the low wages and inadequate training among those who provide the majority of care, said Anniece McLemore, Mississippi’s long-term-care ombudsman within the state Department of Human Services.
NEW YORK (Rochester), Post Bulletin, October 22, 2013
Rochester woman pleads guilty to financial exploitation
A Rochester woman accused of spending more than $17,000 of another woman's money has pleaded guilty to felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. According to the criminal complaint, the older woman spent about six weeks during 2012 in a senior care services facility, where she was diagnosed with dementia. During that period, the complaint says, Kuhn made cash withdrawals of $11,289 on the woman's bank accounts, as well as credit card charges of $6,039.
NORTH CAROLINA (Graham), Digtriad, October 19, 2013
Elderly man left home alone still recovering, who’s responsible?
A man who claimed he was left alone for days after he had a stroke was still recovering in a hospital Thursday afternoon. A Graham postal carrier found the elderly man home alone after his meds starting piling up in the mailbox.
WASHINGTON (Olympia), Q13FOX, October 18, 2013
Caregiver allegedly assaulted 90-year-old dementia patient
A former caregiver for the elderly has been charged with second-degree assault after a co-worker reported he stuffed a washcloth into the mouth of an elderly dementia patient. The co-worker also said she witnessed him douse the 90-year-old woman with cold water. A third caregiver immediately reported the incident to her supervisor and the facility notified police.
INTERNATIONAL (New Zealand), The New Zealand Herald, October 21, 2013
Age groups want watchdog on abuse
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11143307
The Government has been urged to create a new aged care watchdog with legal power to tackle the rising incidence of financial abuse of vulnerable elderly people. Grey Power and the Aged Care Association want the Government to establish an aged care commissioner, akin to the Health and Disability Commissioner, with legal powers to investigate complaints of abuse and to ask the Family Court to review how a person has managed an enduring power of attorney.
INTERNATIONAL (Sydney, Australia), Naples News, October 21, 2013
The silent years: neglected elderly Australian woman suffers brutal fate
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/oct/21/silent-years-neglected-elderly-australian-woman-su/
An autopsy concluded Cynthia Thoresen, an 88-year-old woman, died from a blood clot in her lung, sparked by the leg fracture. Dr. Stephen Morrison, the medical expert, concluded Cynthia's condition and the delay in treatment was "neglectful to the point of cruelty in a distressed, demented and totally dependent patient." Police contemplated charges of manslaughter, failure to provide the necessities of life, negligent acts causing harm, torture, but they decided the doctors couldn't say beyond a reasonable doubt that her daughter’s care had caused Cynthia's death.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Express, October 18, 2013
Neglect ‘contributed to deaths’
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/437582/Neglect-contributed-to-deaths
A coroner has ruled that neglect contributed to the deaths of five elderly people who died after staying at a care home which has come under fierce criticism. Residents were given wrong doses of medication, left soiled and unattended due to staff shortages and there was a lack of management.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mid Sussex Times, October 22, 2013
‘Institutional abuse’ at care home where 19 died
http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/news/local/institutional-abuse-at-care-home-where-19-died-1-5603726
At the end of an inquest into the deaths of 19 people at the Southern Cross owned home, West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield said five of those deaths could be attributed to neglect, and the other 14, although insufficient evidence was given at the five week inquest, were still described as having “heartbreaking” treatment. The inquest heard how patients were left in soiled bedding and found dehydrated and hungry on numerous occasions by family and friends.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), The Independent, October 20, 2013
Elderly robbed by their own relatives: family carers are abusing their legal powers and stealing their relations’ assets
Insurers and lawyers report a rise in the number of clients with mental health problems who have had their bank accounts emptied by greedy relatives who were appointed as deputies and should have been acting in their best interests the article states. Gillian Hitchen, a Court of Protection solicitor for Pannone in Manchester, said "Over the past couple of years, we've seen a huge increase in cases where we've been appointed as deputy because of financial abuse.”
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
INDIANA (Gary), Post-Tribune, October 19, 2013
Group home operator charged with abuses faces new allegations
Gary police and the Indiana attorney general uncovered more alleged criminal acts by the 40-year-old Gary woman whose group homes were all closed earlier this year. Victims said the owner and her boyfriend used stun guns on residents and described assaults on one resident before he was taken to the hospital. There was not always enough food and the doors were locked with dead bolts by caretakers who left residents unattended, court records state.
NEBRASKA (Beatrice), Daily Journal, October 21, 2013
New trial of ex-worker accused of abusing disabled adults at Beatrice center will be moved
The second trial of a former Beatrice State Developmental Center worker accused of abusing developmentally disabled adults who lived at the center will be moved. The Nebraska Supreme Court ordered a new trial because jurors at Pangborn's first trial used a chart that prosecutors created during deliberations.
RELATED ISSUES
NATIONAL, Times Dispatch, October 20, 2013
Bedrails can be hazard to vulnerable adults
Nationwide, nearly 37,000 people visited hospital emergency rooms and 155 people died because of injuries caused by adult portable bedrails between 2003 and 2012, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The article mentions that unlike children’s cribs and bedrails, which by law must meet certain design criteria and pass safety tests, adult bedrails are relatively unregulated.
OHIO ( Cleveland), Cleveland, October 21, 2013
Cleveland police ask for help in finding missing man with dementia
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/10/cleveland_police_ask_for_help.html
A 60-year-old West Side man suffering from dementia is missing and police are asking the public for help in finding him. The man was reported missing at about 4 p.m. Monday, police say, when his caregiver checked his room and he was not there. He was last seen at about 12:30 p.m. at home watching television.
TENNESSEE (Nashville), WSMV, October 20, 2013
Elderly man with dementia shoots at wife, injures self
http://www.wsmv.com/story/23738034/elderly-man-with-dementia-shoots-at-wife-injures-self
Police are accusing an elderly Williamson County man of shooting at his wife and then shooting himself. His wife told deputies that she and her husband, who suffers from dementia, argued earlier that day.
WASHINGTON (Pierce County), King 5, October 18, 2013
Alzheimer’s, dementia patient missing in Pierce County
An elderly man with alzheimer’s and dementia has gone missing from his Tacoma home, along with his car. This man hasn’t driven a car for three years, and his hearing aid and eyeglasses were both left at home.
WISCONSIN (Raymond), The Journal Times, October 18, 2013
Man with dementia picked up wandering 5 mile road
An 86-year-old man with memory issues was picked up and taken home by a Racine County sheriff’s deputy after he was found walking along the side of 5 Mile Road dressed in a jacket and pajamas. The deputy reportedly looked up the man’s address and drove him to his home less than a mile away, where his caretaker confirmed that he had dementia and said that he had never done this before.
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Funding Opportunities:
- October 31, 2013
- Applications for the Innovations in Rural Health Award from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, which seeks ideas to focus on rural health care challenges. One winner will receive $25,000 and up to three finalists will receive $7,500 each for their innovative and inspiring ideas.
- For more information: Delvon Worthy, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust ruralprize@kbr.org; http://kbr.org/sites/default/files/New%20Rural%20Award%202014_FINAL.pdf
- November 1, 2013
- The Lawrence Foundation awards grants in support of the environment, education, human services, disaster relief, and other causes. The foundation awards both program and operating grants with no geographic restrictions to nonprofit organizations that qualify for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as public schools and libraries.
- For more information: http://www.thelawrencefoundation.org/grants/guidelines.php
- November 7, 2013
- Pre-applications for grants from the Impact Fund for nonprofit legal firms, private attorneys, or small law firms that advance social justice in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, or poverty law. Grants of up to $25,000 each will support public-interest litigation that will potentially benefit a large number of people, lead to significant law reform, or raise public consciousness.
- For more information contact: Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://impactfund.org/?page_id=698
- November 8, 2013
- Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize will honor up to three individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields, and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in advancing positive social change. Each winner will receive $100,000, half of which will go to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice.
- Additional information is available on the foundation’s Web site. Contact: Grinnell College, P.O. Box 805, Grinnell, Iowa 50112; prize@grinnell.edu; http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/studentaffairs/chaplain/socialjusticeprize
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Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):
· The 37th Annual Consumer Voice Conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia October 24-27, 2013. For additional information: http://www.theconsumervoice.org/events/annual-meetings
. The 21st Annual New Mexico Adult Abuse Conference will be held on October 24 and 25, 2013 in Albuquerque, NM . This year’s theme is “A Cornucopia of Learning, Knowledge and Services”. For information, contact Agapito J. Silva at Agapito.silva@state.nm.us or 505-841-4550.
· The 2nd Annual Elder Planning Symposium, hosted by the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), will be held at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 7, 2013. Register here: http://www.ficpa.org/Public/Conference/Description.aspx?courseID=13ELDR. You can also visit https://www.facebook.com/events/518843064859824/ for more information.
· The ABA’s (American Bankers Association) Annual Money Laundering Enforcement Conference in Washington DC will be held on November 18, 2013. There will be a panel on “The Financial Institution’s Role in Preventing Elder Financial Exploitation” presenting twice. For more information: http://www.aba.com/Training/Conferences/Pages/MLE_Schedule.aspx
· The 30th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference will be held in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22, 2013. For more information: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/
· The 2nd Annual National Elder Abuse Symposium, hosted by the California District Attorneys Association, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim, California on December 3-6, 2013. Register here: http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=154
· The 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30, 2014 in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. It is sponsored by the National Guardianship Network in affiliation with the International Guardianship Network. The theme of the conference is, “Promising Practices to Ensure Excellence in Guardianship Around the World.” Proposals for presentations are due July 31. See http://worldcongressguardianship.org
An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com
National Center on Elder Abuse
Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect
University of California, Irvine
Program in Geriatrics
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868
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