Newsfeed – Wednesday, February 26, 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
FLORIDA (Tallahassee), Bradenton Herald, February 20, 2014
Advocates say Florida Senate nursing home bill benefits industry and trial lawyers — not patients
http://www.bradenton.com/2014/02/20/5004506/advocates-say-florida-senate-nursing.html
A Senate committee Tuesday gave swift approval to a bill that is being criticized by elder-care advocates as a “sweetheart deal” designed to help nursing homes and trial lawyers make money but do little to improve the quality of care for the homes’ residents. The Senate Health Policy Committee voted 8-1 for a bill that would shield nursing home investors from lawsuits when their homes are accused of abuse and neglect. In exchange, it would give trial lawyers easier access to documents, the article states.
GEORGIA, Online Athens, February 18, 2014
Georgia House panel backs tougher penalties against elder abuse
A Georgia House panel on Monday approved a bill that would toughen penalties for operating an unlicensed personal care home, raising a first offense to a felony from a misdemeanor. The vote came after compelling testimony from Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn, who described to the House Health and Human Services Committee two cases of abuse in unlicensed Cobb County homes.
ILLINOIS (Granite City), Shakopee Valley News, February 17, 2014
Man gets prison time for scamming elderly woman
An Illinois man with a history of scamming elderly people has been sentenced in Scott County District Court to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to exploiting an elderly Prior Lake woman out of nearly $16,000.
MASSACHUSETTS (North Reading), February 19, 2014 (Opinion)
Preserving patient rights in nursing homes
http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20140219/OPINION/140215753/12511/OPINION?tag=1
A recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision restored some of the patient rights the nursing-home system was eroding and returned some of the right to trial by jury in the event a patient is abused or neglected in a nursing home. The author states that one such document that nursing home residents have been faced with in increasing frequency is an agreement to arbitrate. The signing of this document by the resident or legal representative may waive the resident’s right to a jury trial in the case of abuse or neglect.
NEW YORK (The Bronx), ABC Local New York, February 18, 2014
Male nurse charged in Bronx nursing home rape
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9436449
A male nurse has been charged with raping an elderly resident at a Bronx nursing home. The Yonkers man is accused of raping a patient with dementia at the nursing home where he works.
WASHINGTON (Spokane Valley), The Spokesman-Review, February 19, 2014
Shawn Vestal: Binding arbitration unhelpful in elder care dispute
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/feb/19/shawn-vestal-binding-arbitration-unhelpful-in/
Karen Fritz says her mother, who had been placed in the Pine Ridge Alzheimer’s Special Care Center for a few days of respite care, returned home with unexplained bruises and rug burns, complaining in consistent and specific ways about abuse and threats from caregivers at the center. A state inspector was coincidentally at the center during the woman’s stay and investigated her claims, finding that the center had improperly turned off her bed alarm and not investigated her claims quickly enough, but issued no abuse or neglect citations, said Gerald Kobluk, the attorney who represented Pine Ridge and its owner, JEA Senior Living.
INTERNATIONAL (New Zealand), Voxy, February 19, 2014
Police urge people to watch scamming video
http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/police-urge-people-watch-scamming-video/5/181944
Police have developed a video resource to help older New Zealanders avoid scammers' tricks. National Manager Crime Prevention, Superintendent Bruce Bird says people of all ages and backgrounds fall victim to false promises and fake offers. However older people can be particularly vulnerable.
ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
ALABAMA (Opelika), OA NOW, February 20, 2014
Intellectually disabled person abandoned at EAMC
http://www.oanow.com/news/crime_courts/article_91d3dc8c-9a89-11e3-bccb-001a4bcf6878.html
A intellectually disabled man was abandoned by his guardian at East Alabama Medical Center Wednesday night, according to Opelika police. EAMC notified the Opelika Police Department at 6 p.m. Wednesday that a 21-year-old man was abandoned in the emergency room, said the OPD's Cpl. Ben Blackburn.
CALIFORNIA (Los Angeles), 4 NBC, February 19, 2014
Unlicensed Care Home Accused of Abuse
Residents of two assisted living facilities for the disabled have until Wednesday morning to find other places to live after the LA City Attorney cracked down on unlicensed homes he called nightmares. The complaint alleges that the defendants violated the residents’ personal rights, subjecting them to deplorable, overcrowded, unsafe and unsanitary living conditions.
CALIFORNIA (Santa Rosa), Dixon Patch, February 19, 2014
Updated: Area Man Charged with Embezzling Social Security Funds from Developmentally Disabled
A retired social worker was charged in Sonoma County Superior Court this afternoon with embezzling money intended for his developmentally disabled clients. Defense attorney Izaak Schwaiger said the complaint alleges 35 felony counts of "embezzlement related" charges of forgery, fraud, and theft against dependent adults between 20 and 70 years old since 2006.
OHIO (Cleveland), Cleveland, February 18, 2014
Veteran assaulted in downtown Cleveland calls media portrayal of incident 'disgusting'
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/02/cleveland_veteran_attacked_in.html
Matthew Robinson, a 30-year-old disabled Army veteran, was assaulted by a group of teenagers in downtown Cleveland earlier this month. A 16-year-old girl with the group recorded the attack on a cell phone.
RELATED ISSUES
TEXAS (Grayson County), KTEN TEXOMA, February 16, 2014
Lake Texoma Retiree Still Missing From Home After Two Days
http://www.kten.com/story/24740276/senior-citizen-still-missing-near-pottsboro
It's now been more than two days since an 83-year-old senior citizen with dementia disappeared from his home west of Pottsboro, and there's still no sign of him. The son says he had gone in to take a shower on Friday afternoon, but when he came out his father was missing and since then they've been trying everything they can to find him.
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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 Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability is holding its second webinar featuring Dr. Nora Baladerian’s presentation, “Crime Victims with Disabilities: An Overview for Professionals in the Criminal Justice System” on February 27th at 12:30 CST, 1:30 EST. This comprehensive webinar will present an overview of the issues surrounding victimization of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), and where various professionals fit into the solution. Contact NCCJDInfo@thearc.orgwith any questions. To register please use the following link: https://thearc.webex.com/thearc/k2/j.php?MTID=tcac50d94749c6b73e527d08cc6459376
· The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care will be hosting a Free Webinar called “Tips and Tools for Preventing and Responding to Financial Exploitation in Long-Term Care Facilities” on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 3:00- 4:30 ET. Topics include: The role of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in financial protection and education of older adults and share new resources attendees can use with consumers; The responsibilities and oversight of representative payees and how attendees can support the rights of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries and report suspicion of misuse of benefits by a representative payee; Case scenarios; New consumer factsheets regarding the prevention, detection and reporting of financial exploitation in nursing home and assisted living facilities. Space is limited. To register, click here: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=r1wpa2akd1ht
· Aging in America 2014 Conference by the American Society on Aging (March 11-15, 2014) presents the National Forum on Elder Justice Thursday, March 13th from 1:00pm-5:00pm PST. The program will examine elder justice from a multidisciplinary perspective, looking at everything from research and practice to policy and the impact of elder abuse on diverse populations. Pre-registration is required. Find more information here: http://www.asaging.org/national-forum-elder-abuse
· 14th Annual International Family Justice Conference “The Root of All Crime” is April 2-4, 2014 in San Diego, CA. The conference will include training and interactive peer to peer discussions on issues related to the handling of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse and stalking cases with special focus on law enforcement response, criminal prosecution, civil legal assistance, and advocacy. For more information click here: https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=1231094
· 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/classes-and-events/forensic-conference-7th-annualor 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
· The 2014 Consumer Voice Annual Conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia from November 15-19, 2014. There will be speakers in the field, long-term care policy updates from key experts, and tools and resources for advocacy. Registration and the conference agenda details will be coming soon. For questions, contact: info@theconsumervoice.org.
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Funding Opportunities:
· The National Institute of Justice is seeking proposals for research and evaluation related to the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elderly individuals. Research that includes residents of residential care facilities also will be considered. Research proposed may be focused at the state, local, tribal, federal, juvenile justice policy and/or practice level.
o The closing date for the application is April 25, 2014
o Click here for more information: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=251247
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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