Newsfeed –Thursday, January 23, 2014
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! An archived collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://ncea.posthaven.com/
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
ARIZONA (Green Valley), Arizona Daily Star, January
Green Valley nursing home owner arrested
The owner of a Green Valley assisted-living home was arrested last week as the result of a vulnerable-adult-abuse investigation. The woman discovered someone had opened a bank account in her relative’s name and charged $2,500 to the account. Detectives are trying to determine if there are other victims, Steele said.
CALIFORNIA (Long Beach), Press-Telegram, January 17, 2014
The Breakers of Long Beach sued in elder abuse cases
The Breakers of Long Beach, a downtown assisted-living facility that was put up for sale last month, has been ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages after a jury found the facility responsible for a resident’s spinal injury. A Los Angeles County judge ordered The Breakers to pay roughly $400,000 to the woman who suffered the injury after falling down while living at The Breakers.
CALIFORNIA (Sacramento), The Fresno Bee, January 21, 2014
Officials, advocates at odds over handling of California caregiver abuse cases
http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/01/21/3725633/officials-advocates-at-odds-over.html
Officials from the California Department of Public Health and long-term care advocates clashed Tuesday at an Assembly oversight hearing over regulators' ability to process complaints of abuse against nursing assistants. The backlog is especially problematic, both officials and advocates testified, because as time goes on, substantiating allegations becomes more difficult as staff moves, evidence disappears and those who complain die.
CALIFORNIA (Santa Ynez), Noozhawk, January 17, 2014
Suspect accused of striking elderly man with baton
A Santa Ynez man was arrested Tuesday evening after he allegedly struck an elderly man with an expandable baton during a dispute. Dinu Antofie, 45, of Santa Ynez was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, victim intimidation and elder abuse, according to Kelly Hoover, spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.
COLORADO (Boulder), Daily Camera, January 17, 2014
Michelle Hebert gets 5 years in prison for theft case
A 54-year-old woman was sentenced to five years in prison and 20 years of probation Friday for scamming an elderly couple of almost $600,000 over the span of seven years. Michelle Ann Hebert was found guilty in early December on two counts of theft from an at-risk adult — a Class 3 felony — as well as eight tax related charges by a jury after a four-day trial.
CONNECTICUT, Reminder News, January 17, 2014
We can all help stop elder abuse, neglect and exploitation
Elder abuse –the physical, mental or emotional abuse, neglect or exploitation of a senior citizen – is more common than most people realize, and it’s a problem that’s growing in Connecticut. Statistics from the state Department of Social Services show a steady uptick in reports of elder abuse across the state in the past three years, according to Dorian Long, manager of the department’s Protective Services for the Elderly.
DELAWARE (New Castle), Seattle Pi, January 15, 2014
Del. man charged with abusing 79-year-old mother
A New Castle man has been charged with abusing his 79-year-old mother. Police say the woman, who cannot care for herself and relies heavily on her son, suffered injuries to her upper body and had been mistreated.
INDIANA, Post-Tribune, January 16, 2014
Jerry Davich: Elder neglect or caregiver overload?
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/24977632-537/jerry-davich-elder-neglect-or-caregiver-overload.html
Curtis Magee, who is convinced his 66-year-old father is a victim of elder neglect, with gruesome photos reflecting his allegations. “It was the courage of one nurse at a nursing home who said his home treatment was inhumane,” said Magee, of Gary. However, his father’s wife insists otherwise, equally convinced she has done everything possible to care for her husband, who has Parkinson’s disease, suffered three strokes, and is now bedridden with a terminal prognosis.
MICHIGAN (Leelanau), Up North Live, January 22, 2014
Woman who stole from elderly man sentenced to one year in jail
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=997271#.UuFXHxDTlpg
The woman who deputies say stole thousands from an elderly Lake Leelanau man was sentenced to one year in jail. Carolyn Flees, 59, was a part-time caregiver for the man for seven years.
MISSOURI (Kansas City), The Sacramento Bee, January 23, 2014
Police: Elderly KC man with dementia conned
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/23/6094935/police-elderly-kc-man-with-dementia.html
Kansas City police say an 88-year-old man with dementia was tricked into buying a 19-year-old man shoes and hats. Police say the elderly man was in a car waiting for his wife to shop when the younger man got into the car. The younger man allegedly convinced the victim that they knew each other and persuaded him to take him shopping.
NEW HAMPSHIRE (Bennington), Sentinel Source, January 20, 2014
Bennington woman acquitted of murder is sentenced on theft charges
A former nursing assistant may serve little to no jail time for stealing $3,018 from an elderly woman’s financial account in 2009, beginning on the morning the woman was found comatose. But Jodi LaClaire, 39, of Bennington, N.H., is on probation indefinitely, or until a judge rules otherwise. She also faces a five- to 10-year suspended jail sentence if she violates her probation.
NEW YORK, Columbia Daily Tribune, January 21, 2014
Group trains doormen to look out for elderly
New York's doormen are being enlisted as an army of eyes to look for signs of elder abuse: a stranger picking up the mail, the sudden presence of a rarely seen relative with an attitude, a bruise. Solomon, director of the Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home in the Bronx, partnered with the building workers' union in a grant-funded program to help doormen spot various kinds of elder abuse — physical, sexual, psychological and financial.
NEW YORK, Daily News, January 21, 2014
NYC doormen helping prevent elder abuse
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-doormen-trained-spot-elder-abuse-article-1.1586567
The doormen were trained by Bronx-based Hebrew Home on how to detect signs of abuse. The training, which began several years ago, has been broadened to include others who come in contact with isolated seniors, such as Meals-on-Wheels delivery workers. An online version is in the works that could spread its message throughout the union’s coverage area, from Massachusetts to Florida. Only 4 percent of elder abuse incidents in New York are reported.
NORTH CAROLINA (Butner), 5 NBC Chicago, January 21, 2014
Reputed Chicago mobster claims elder abuse in prison
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Reputed-Chicago-Mobster-Claims-Abuse-in-Prison-241289991.html
Restrictions imposed on Chicago mob boss Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo at the North Carolina federal prison where he's serving a life sentence amount to elder abuse, his lawyers contend in a court filing. His attorneys contend in a Dec. 23 filing that he was subjected to "elder abuse" when authorities placed him under "special administrative measures," restricting his access to mail, phone and visitors.
OHIO (Fayette County), The Columbus Dispatch, January 22, 2014
Troubled Fayette County nursing home must close
State officials say they will find new homes for the 130 residents of a problem-plagued nursing home in Fayette County, including at least 27 registered sex offenders, before its government funding stops next month. Carlton Manor in Washington Court House has become the state’s de facto nursing home for people no one else would take, its employees say. In addition to the registered sex offenders — a number that far exceeds that in any other nursing home in the state — nearly all the other residents have some sort of behavioral, psychological or mental-health problem that often includes aggressive behavior and/or a criminal background.
WASHINGTON (Longview), Komo News, January 17, 2014
Man sues Longview care home after wife freezes to death
A man who is suing a Longview dementia-care home over the freezing death of his wife has asked the court to expedite testimony. The 88-year-old woman died of hypothermia in an enclosed courtyard at the Canterbury Gardens Alzheimer's Care Center on Dec. 28 when the temperature was 28 degrees.
INTERNATIONAL (India), The Hindu, January 17, 2014
Lack of awareness hinders legal assistance to elderly
Despite protection laws having been passed more than four years ago, convictions under the law are rare. “Convictions are low because there is a lack of awareness regarding the law. Abandonment of the elderly is still seen as a family matter rather than a police case,” said Additional Director General of Police K. Padmakumar. “Steps to protect the elderly from abuse and neglect in their old age need to be put in place quickly as the number of senior citizens among the total population is rising quickly,” he added.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mail Online, January 20, 2014
Nurse who stuffed paper towels into an elderly dementia patient’s mouth because he was ‘stressed’ could be struck off for life
A head nurse who stuffed paper towels into a dementia sufferer’s mouth to make her 'shut up' faces being struck off for life. Nigel Phillips, 58, of Stockton-on-Tees, also bent the elderly woman's fingers back as he treated cuts on her hands at the Bupa care home in Hartlepool, County Durham where he was head of mental nursing.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), Mirror, January 16, 2014
Dementia patients deprived of legal rights when staff lock them up or sedate them
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dementia-patients-deprived-legal-rights-3026326#.UuFXjBDTlpg
Elderly dementia patients are being illegally locked in their rooms and sedated in hospitals and care homes, a shock report warns today. Staff are flouting official guidelines and depriving confused residents of their basic human rights in the belief that it is in their best interests.
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
FLORIDA (Miami), CBS Miami, January 17, 2014
Man arrested for alleged abuse of disabled woman
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/01/17/man-arrested-for-alleged-abuse-of-disabled-woman/
A man accused of sexual battery, kidnapping and abuse of a disabled woman faced a Broward County Judge Friday in bond court. Broward Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Oral Johnson, 36, on charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment, and abuse of the elderly or disabled adult without great bodily harm.
FLORIDA (Mount Dora), My Fox Orlando, January 21, 2014
Woman accused of throwing hot water on disabled man at special needs facility
Photographs from the Lake County Sheriff's Office show the bandaged up burns of a 21-year-old man under the care of Carlton Palms in Mount Dora, a residential facility for special needs youth and adults. Deputies say an employee at the facility allegedly caused the burns on the victim.
INDIANA (Richmond), Pal-item, January 23, 2014
Richmond woman pleads guilty to abusing disabled adult, child
A Richmond woman charged with battering a disabled adult female and the victim’s child pleaded guilty Tuesday in Wayne County Superior Court III, court documents indicate. Karen S. Ward, 59, who has been free on bond since an initial hearing in the case in October 2013, is accused of having for a period of time, beaten and abused a mentally disabled adult female who lived with Ward.
MARYLAND (Catonsville), Catonsville Patch, January 17, 2014
Catonsville woman indicted in abuse of disabled resident
A Catonsville woman was indicted for abuse and neglect in the case of a developmentally disabled resident reportedly left in a hot vehicle in July, State Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced Friday. The temperature that day was in the 80s.
TENNESSEE (Murfreesboro), WBIR, January 19, 2014
Number of deaths double for people in state care
The Murfreesboro man says he never got an answer to the question of why his intellectually disabled brother choked to death while in the state's care. His concerns were echoed by relatives of several other deceased people whose care was entrusted to the state Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The agency, already faulted for "serious problems" in a recent audit by the state comptroller's office, came under fire again last month. A massive report filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville under a longstanding consent decree details dozens of cases of poor and inadequate treatment of residents in Middle and East Tennessee.
RELATED ISSUES
ILLINOIS (Belleville), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 22, 2014
Woman found dead in Belleville had dementia, succumbed to cold, police say
Police say an elderly woman found dead Tuesday morning behind a business in the 1800 block of West Main Street died of hypothermia. Simpson had been diagnosed with dementia. Authorities believe she walked away from her home and became confused in the cold weather.
UTAH (Ogden), Standard-Examiner, January 21, 2014
Hiker with dementia found in central Ogden
http://www.standard.net/stories/2014/01/20/hiker-dementia-found-central-ogden
Ogden police were successful Monday in locating a man who was disoriented and lost in central Ogden. Ogden Lt. Will Cragun said the 74-year-old man who has been diagnosed with dementia had gone hiking at 2 p.m. Monday on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and had a history of reporting home about two hours later.
INTERNATIONAL (Canada), Maclean’s, January 17, 2014
Old and dangerous: senior violence is getting worse
http://www2.macleans.ca/2014/01/17/old-and-dangerous/
The Halifax case speaks to the challenges and risks for care-home staff in balancing the safety of residents and the rights of perpetrators unable to remember, or comprehend the impact of their aggression. May 2012 report of Ontario’s long-term-care task force on resident care and safety found that in 2011, 57 per cent of the abuse and neglect incidents (1,568 of 2,273) studied in long-term care were resident-to-resident encounters.
INTERNATIONAL (Dublin, Ireland), Independent.ie, January 20, 2014
Farmer with dementia and Parkinson’s disease deemed unfit to stand trial for brother’s murder
A 65-year-old Wicklow farmer with dementia and Parkinson’s disease has been deemed unfit to stand trial for the murder of his older brother in 2010. When his case was called before the Central Criminal Court yesterday (Monday), Mr. Justice Paul Carney heard there was an issue about his fitness to stand trial.
INTERNATIONAL (United Kingdom), The Independent, January 16, 2014
84-year-old dementia patient died in handcuffs at immigration detention center
An 84-year-old suffering from dementia who was detained at a privately owned immigration center was taken to hospital in handcuffs and died while in restrains, a report has revealed. Doctors said that the Canadian man, understood to be Alois Dvorzac, was unfit for detention or deportation after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but had spent almost three weeks in Harmondsworth immigration removal center when he died.
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Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):
· IOM Forum on Global Violence Prevention will host a public workshop on February 26-27, 2014. This workshop will explore a model for thinking about mental health, violence, and prevention with the goal of arriving at a better understanding of the relationships between mental illness and risks of violence perpetration and victimization as well as the mental health consequences of exposure to violence. The workshop will be held at the Keck Center in Washington, DC, and is free and open to the public. However, space is limited. More information found here: http://www.iom.edu/Activities/Global/ViolenceForum/2014-FEB-26.aspx?utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=Institute%20of%20Medicine&utm_campaign=12.18.13+Forum+and+Roundtable+News&utm_content=&utm_term=
· The 7th Annual Forensic Investigations on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Child and Elder Abuse. This conference will be held in the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri from May 14-16th, 2014. For more information click here: https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/events?kw=forensic&location=All&adesc= or contact saintlukesconcierge@saint-lukes.org
· The 3rd World Congress on Adult Guardianship will be convened on May 28-30th , 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
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Funding Opportunities:
Deadline: Feb. 1. Retirement Research Foundation supports projects that improve the availability and quality of community-based and long-term support and services for older adults. Learn more at www.rrf.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
Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
101 The City Drive South
Orange, CA 92868
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