Newsfeed – Tuesday, November 12, 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
CALIFORNIA (Santa Barbara County), KSBY, November 8, 2013
Jury finds man guilty of elder abuse and assault
http://www.ksby.com/news/jury-finds-man-guilty-of-elder-abuse-and-assault/
Santa Barbara County District Attorney, Joyce E. Dudley, says a jury found 48-year-old Douglas John Stekkinger guilty of elder abuse, assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury, and battery with serious bodily injury Thursday. Stekkinger was also convicted of personally inflicting great bodily injury on someone age 70 or older.
CALIFORNIA (Visalia), Visalia Times-Delta, November 7, 2013
Bail remains for Visalia elder-abuse suspect
A Visalia man accused of elder abuse that includes a claim that he bound his 75-year-old uncle in a shed had his request to be released from jail on his own recognizance denied on Wednesday. The accused is charged with individual counts of false imprisonment of an elder and criminal negligence under circumstances likely to produce bodily injury. He was arrested Oct. 30 after a woman reported to Visalia police that she saw the victim handcuffed to a chair inside a shed next to a home in the 400 block of East Sunnyside Avenue.
CONNECTICUT, The Courant, November 8, 2013
Four nursing homes fined, one after patient dies
http://www.courant.com/health/connecticut/hc-nursing-home-fines-20131108,0,7491933.story
Four Connecticut nursing homes have been fined by the state in connection with cases of a resident dying after a fall, another being burned, others who broke a leg, hip or cervical bone and one who was sexually abused by a visitor. In two of the citations released this week, the state Department of Public Health fined Elm Hill Nursing Center of Rocky Hill a total of $2,250 for the cases of a broken hip, the sexual abuse that was not properly reported and a resident who fell and was unresponsive. That patient died in a hospital after the fall, DPH spokesman William Gerrish said Friday.
FLORIDA, Gainesville, November 7, 2013
Protections sought as elderly abuse escalates
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20131107/articles/131109656?p=1&tc=pg
Financial fraud is just one of the abuses against the elderly that's on the rise throughout the nation, the article states. Thursday's conference, titled "Save Our Seniors" addressed many of these growing problems. Every year, the Seniors vs. Crime organization recovers between $2 million and $3 million for elder victims of fraud — which is just "the tip of the iceberg," Barbara Thomas, regional director of the nonprofit said.
HAWAII (Honolulu), Hawaii News Now, November 8, 2013
Elder abuse squad getting slammed with cases
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23911991/elder-abuse-squad-getting-slammed-with-cases
Scams against the elderly are on the rise. And there are so many different scams, police have a hard time keeping up. Since 2008, elder abuse cases have risen almost 300%. Honolulu Police and prosecutors teamed up that year to form an Elder Abuse Justice Squad. The size of the squad has since doubled in 2010, then expanded again last year.
NEBRASKA (York), Westport News, November 6, 2013
York woman convicted in adult abuse case
http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/York-woman-convicted-in-adult-abuse-case-4959856.php
A 29-year-old York woman has made a plea deal and been convicted in an abuse case involving a vulnerable adult. Deputy York County Attorney Benjamin Dennis says an elderly woman with significant health issues employed Steider for help with daily tasks.
OREGON, Statesman Journal, November 5, 2013
Abuse of elderly is on the rise in Oregon
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20131105/NEWS/311050028/Abuse-elderly-rise-Oregon
The new study, which analyzed 419 investigative reports written in 2011, concluded that family members were responsible for victimizing the elderly or disabled in 55 percent of the reported cases, said Christian Hale, the OAAPI investigator of financial exploitation. The increase in cases has been closely followed by Oregon Rep. Vic Gilliam, who has helped sponsor and push legislation this year and last to better protect seniors and people with physical disabilities against these types of crimes.
PENNSYLVANIA (Washington County), TribLIVE, November 8, 2013
Ex-bank official accused of taking $35,000 from 81-year-old woman
A Rostraver Township woman is accused of taking $35,000 from an 81-year-old woman. The former manager at 1st Federal Savings Bank in Donora allegedly gained the victim's trust by telling her she would help the woman regain an automobile that had been repossessed.
SOUTH CAROLINA (Columbia), Anchorage Daily News, November 6, 2013
SC advocates for elderly push for advocacy program
http://www.adn.com/2013/11/06/3161697/sc-advocates-for-elderly-push.html
Advocates for South Carolina's elderly urged legislators Wednesday to create a statewide program of volunteers who provide a voice for abused, neglected and exploited adults in court. After hearing from supporters, a legislative committee voted unanimously to recommend a bill putting the state Office on Aging in charge of coordinating the volunteer corps for vulnerable adults.
TEXAS, KVUE ABC, November 7, 2013
Nursing home abuse and neglect on the rise in Texas
http://www.kvue.com/news/Nursing-home-abuse-and-neglect-231065581.html
A KVUE Defenders investigation uncovered cases of nursing home neglect on the rise across Texas. The investigation also discovered that facilities repeatedly cited for violations rarely see their contracts terminated with the state, despite getting millions in taxpayer dollars.
INTERNATIONAL (Lancaster, United Kingdom), BBC NEWS, November 6, 2013
Hillcroft nursing home staff trial: Cleaner ‘witnessed abuse’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-24838898
A cleaner has told the trial of three carers accused of abusing residential home dementia patients she witnessed several instances of ill-treatment. "I had to say something seeing so many people upset by people who were supposed to care for them," she said. The jury was told by the defense that there was "in-fighting" and that there were "cliques" at the care home.
INTERNATIONAL (Ontario, Canada), Blackburn News, November 8, 2013
Investigating health care complaints
http://blackburnnews.com/chatham/chatham-news/2013/11/08/investigating-health-care-complaints/
Ontario is now the only province where the Ombudsman does not have the authority to investigate hospitals, long-term care facilities or retirement homes. There have been several private members bills tabled to allow the Ombudsman the ability to investigate, but none have ever made it past the third reading Communications Director Linda Williamson said.
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
CALIFORNIA (Bakersfield), Courthouse News Service, November 7, 2013
Group home accused of wrongful death
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/11/07/62722.htm
Employees of Mountain View Ranch Residential Care beat a man to death while he was restrained, his family claims in Kern County Court. In the lawsuit, the family claims that staff members "assaulted, battered, struck, kicked, punched, kneed, choked and/or negligently touched, and used excessive, and cumulatively or in sometimes deadly force upon decedent without adequate cause, reason or justification."
FLORIDA (Bradenton), ABC Action News, November 7, 2013
Disabled man kicked, punched at Bradenton skate park
http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/disabled-man-kicked-punched-at-bradenton-skate-park
Major trouble struck the park early Wednesday, when a mentally disabled man was assaulted by three people, according to police. According to an arrest report, investigators were tipped off about the beating from a Facebook video, which allegedly showed one 19 year-old kneeing and punching the victim in the head and chest while the other 20-year-old cheered him on.
FLORIDA (Bradenton), Bradenton Herald, November 7, 2013
Police: mentally disabled man attacked at Bradenton skate park
http://www.bradenton.com/2013/11/07/4814269/police-mentally-disabled-man-attacked.html
Two men were arrested early Thursday and charged with beating a mentally disabled person at the Riverwalk skate park. Both appeared before Manatee County Judge Diana Moreland in a first appearance hearing Wednesday afternoon.
FLORIDA (Englewood), WINK NEWS, November 7, 2013
CCSO arrests man for burglary, abusing a disabled adult
Charlotte County Sheriff's detectives arrested an Englewood man Wednesday on several charges, including abusing a disabled adult, in connection with a residential burglary reported earlier that day. The victim reported that sometime between Sunday and Wednesday someone had entered his home and removed money and items of jewelry valued at more than $2,000, and he suspected an acquaintance.
SOUTH CAROLINA (Clover), The State: South Carolina’s Homepage, November 8, 2013
Police: Clover woman with DM neglected by boyfriend
http://www.thestate.com/2013/11/08/3084753/clover-woman-with-ms-taken-to.html
A bedridden woman suffering from Muscular Dystrophy was taken into protective services early Thursday after her boyfriend was charged with neglecting her at their Clover house. Police found the boyfriend intoxicated at 2:30 a.m., and discovered he had not provided food or water for the woman for more than 18 hours, according to a York County Sheriff's Office report.
RELATED ISSUES
CALIFORNIA (Los Angeles), San Gabriel Valley Tribune Breaking News
Man, 81, with dementia missing from South Los Angeles
http://www.sgvtribune.com/20131108/man-81-with-dementia-missing-from-south-los-angeles
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department today sought the public’s help in locating an 81-year-old man with dementia who went missing from an unincorporated area near South Los Angeles. The man was last seen about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when he left a residence in the 4000 block of Southridge Avenue in a vehicle, according to Detective C. Barnes of the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
INTERNATIONAL (Europe), Reuters, November 9, 2013
Don’t neglect oral healthcare in frail, elderly: study
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/08/us-oral-healthcare-elder-idINBRE9A710W20131108#top
"Although during recent years increasing attention has been given to improving oral health care for frail old people, there is ample evidence showing that the oral health of elderly people, in particular of care home residents is (still) poor," researchers wrote in the journal European Geriatric Medicine. But when elderly people ignore their dental hygiene or are unable to keep their mouths clean, health problems can ensue. Plus, reduced saliva production and certain medications increase the risk of oral problems, the researchers said.
INTERNATIONAL (Dublin, Ireland), NEWS ABC, November 7, 2013
Australian woman in Dublin released from protective custody
The 25-year-old Australian woman who was found in a distressed state in Dublin is free to leave protective custody. The Irish High Court said while she did have a definable condition that makes her vulnerable, it would not prevent her release. Authorities originally believed the woman was a teenager and that she was a suspected victim of sex trafficking.
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Funding Opportunities:
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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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November 13, 2013
- Applications for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program. Midcareer health professionals and behavioral and social scientists with an interest in health and health-care policy are given the opportunity to participate in the policy process at the federal level and use that leadership experience to improve health, health care, and health policy. Up to six awards of up to $165,000 each will be made.
- For more information contact: National Academies, Institute of Medicine, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 334-1506; info@healthpolicyfellows.org ; http://www.healthpolicyfellows.org .
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November 14, 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.
- Contact Impact Fund, 125 University Avenue, Suite 102, Berkeley, Calif. 94710; (510) 845-3473; http://www.impactfund.org/index.php?cat_id=71 to find out more.
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December 6, 2013
- Applications for grants from the Cardinal Health Foundation to support nonprofit health-care institutions to improve patient safety. Grants between $7,500 and $35,000 each will be awarded to approximately 25 organizations in the United States and Canada.
- Find out more by contacting Cardinal Health Foundation, Community Relations, 7000 Cardinal Place, Dublin, Ohio 43017; (614) 757-5000; http://www.cardinalhealth.com/us/en/CommunityRelations/Apply/E3
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December 17, 2013
- Letters of intent to apply for grants from the VNA Foundation. Grants will support nonprofit organizations for home and community-based health care and health services that focus on the needs of disadvantaged people in the metropolitan Chicago area. The foundation awards program, operating, and capital grants in support of home health-care services, community and school-based services, primary care and chronic disease management, and health promotion.
- For more information contact VNA Foundation, 20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 3118, Chicago, Ill. 60606; (312) 214-1521; http://vnafoundation.net/guidelinesprocedures
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December 22, 2013
- Nominations for the Roth Award from the Mary Byron Project for programs that demonstrate promise in ending the generational cycle of domestic violence. A cash award of $10,000 will be given to a program that focuses on disadvantaged people. Such a program provides services to those who are identified as such based on characteristics that include age, race, ethnicity, gender, faith, disabilities, low socio-economic status, non-English speaking, sexual preference, and victims from suburban areas who traditionally do not know how to avail themselves of services or who are too ashamed to find them.
- Find more information by contacting Kathy Paulin, Mary Byron Project, 10401 Linn Station Road, Louisville, Ky. 40223; (502) 992-3444; kathypaulin@marybyronproject.org ; http://marybyronproject.org/index.php/our-work/the-roth-award
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Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):
· The New York City JASA Elder Abuse Training Institute has new training classes for Fall 2013. For more details and registration information click here: http://jasa.org/sites/default/files/NextAct_Catalog_Final_8.9.13.pdf Contact Martha Pollack for further questions: 718-286-1540 or mpollack@jasa.org
· 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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