NCEA | Newsfeed Collection

NCEA Newsfeed – Friday, September 28, 2012

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!

Calendar of upcoming events can be found at the bottom of the newsfeed entries.

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ELDER ABUSE NEWSFEED

1.            MAINE (Berwick), Portsmouth Patch, September 24, 2012
Nurse Indicted for Patient Abuse, Drug Possession
http://portsmouth-nh.patch.com/articles/nurse-indicted-for-elder-abuse-drug-possession
A Berwick, Maine woman who authorities say deprived an elderly patient of morphine so she could take the drug at a Portsmouth elderly care facility has been indicted by a Rockingham County Grand Jury. She was indicted for one felony count of possession of a controlled drug and for another felony count of abuse of facility patients.

2.            MASSACHUSETTS (Hampshire County), Mass Live, September 26, 2012
Northwestern District Attorney’s Office sees crimes on rise against seniors
http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/09/northwestern_district_attorneys_office_sees_crimes_on_rise_against_seniors.html
In 2004 several changes were made to the laws in Massachusetts that offer protection to elders and those with disabilities. However, these new laws don’t necessarily deter behavior, and the Northwestern District Attorney’s office in Hampshire County has still seen a pronounced rise in crimes against elders – from financial thefts to physical assaults.

3.            MINNESOTA (Chisago), Chisago County Press, September 27, 2012
County speakers spread message about elderly financial exploitation
http://www.chisagocountypress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=16880
The Chisago County attorney’s office is currently pursuing a criminal case involving financial exploitation of a nursing home resident that took place from 2009 to 2012. There are currently 12 counts, with the alleged theft totaling a $100,000 loss for the 88-year-old victim. The ultimate goal is to see restitution ordered and an effort made to return what was stolen.

4.            MISSOURI (Cape Girardeau), Southeast Missourian, September 25, 2012
Nurse’s aide charged with elderly abuse gets new judge, arraignment set
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1897337.html
Sherri L. Sprenger, a nurse's aide who prosecutors say backhanded a 98-year-old resident at the Lutheran Home, asked for a change of judge, which she was granted. She is being charged with third-degree elder abuse, a misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to one year in jail and as much as a $1,000 fine, if convicted.

5.            NEBRASKA (McCook), McCook Gazette, September 24, 2012
Hillcrest: Abuse allegations trigger immediate suspension
http://www.mccookgazette.com/story/1897288.html
A nursing home employee has been suspended, pending an ongoing allegation of an incident of abuse that occurred in May 2012.

6.            OREGON (Portland), KOIN Local 6, September 26, 2012
John Day nursing home forced to close
http://www.koinlocal6.com/news/local/story/Nursing-home-forced-to-close-after-West-Linn-woman/UHJRn4J-7kaly0v6wlIiMA.cspx
Oregon's Department of Human Services is closing down a Grant County assisting living center that a local family believes killed their mother. Two of their mother’s former caregivers now face charges of manslaughter and criminal mistreatment.

7.            OREGON (Walla Walla), Union-Bulletin, September 26, 2012
Free seminar on fighting elder abuse set for Friday
http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/sep/26/free-seminar-on-fighting-elder-abuse-set-for/#
A free seminar on “the team approach to fighting elder abuse” will be held Friday at the Walla Walla Police Department. The daylong seminar will be open to all people who provide services to vulnerable adults.

8.            TEXAS (San Antonio), KSAT, September 25, 2012
KSAT viewers respond to help Navy vet living in deplorable conditions
http://www.ksat.com/news/defenders/KSAT-viewers-respond-to-help-Navy-vet-living-in-deplorable-conditions/-/478436/16740324/-/ws9ks9z/-/index.html
A 79-year-old Navy vet was ordered to leave his home because it was falling down and filthy after years of self-neglect. When his friends and neighbors found out, they did all they could to help, including contacting the local news station. Viewers came out of the woodwork to assist the senior, fixing his hot water heater and shower, providing free pest control, and offering food, clothing, and money.

9.            WASHINGTON, D.C., Washington Examiner, September 26, 2012
Audit: D.C. agency didn’t report abuses of adults to cops
http://washingtonexaminer.com/audit-d.c.-agency-didnt-report-abuses-of-adults-to-cops/article/2509129#.UGTr3pjW7Sg
A local Adult Protective Services Program is under fire for underreporting substantiated cases of elder abuse to police. In two year, a report said, APS substantiated 251 reports of neglect, abuse and exploitation, for an average of 10 per month.

10.          INTERNATIONAL (Gateshead, United Kingdom), Chronicle Live, September 27, 2012
Low Fell nursing home told to raise standards
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/communities/low-fell/2012/09/27/low-fell-nursing-home-told-to-raise-standards-72703-31917987/
A care home has been told to make immediate improvements after a watchdog ruled it was failing to protect the safety and welfare of residents. Through an unannounced visit, a number of problems were identified and a formal warning has been issued. Complaints included the failure to recognize potential abuse and respond appropriately, and insufficient numbers of staff on duty.

ABUSE OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

1.            MARYLAND (Baltimore), WUSA9, September 25, 2012
Olufunke Rachel Anifowose Found Guilty of Abusing 64-Year-Old Woman in Md.
http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/222900/189/Md-Woman-Found-Guilty-For-Abusing-64-Year-Old-Woman
A Maryland woman has been found guilty of abusing a vulnerable adult after burning the victim's face. Anifowose was sentenced to 18 months in prison, which was later suspended. She now has to serve 18 months’ probation, during this time she cannot supervise vulnerable adults.

2.            MARYLAND (Randallstown), ABC 2 News, September 25, 2012
Woman guilty of burning vulnerable adult
http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_county_crime/woman-guilty-of-burning-vulnerable-adult
A 36-year-old woman has been found guilty of second degree abuse of a vulnerable adult, and has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. All of her prison sentence has been suspended, however she will serve 18 months of probation, during which she is not allowed to supervise vulnerable adults. According to the conviction, the woman inflicted a burn to the side of the face of the victim while she was in bed at a home for disabled adults.

3.            OHIO (Madeira), Local 12, September 26, 2012
Madeira Nursing Home Worker Accused of Punching Patient
http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Madeira-Nursing-Home-Worker-Accused-of-Punching/ixMSq5NS7ECxaQmJLGTnYg.cspx
A nurse’s aide has allegedly been caught on camera punching a wheelchair-bound patient in the face following a verbal altercation and an attempted swing by the patient.

4.            SOUTH CAROLINA (Anderson), Independent Mail, September 25, 2012
Upstate mental health official accused of stealing from patient
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/sep/25/upstate-mental-health-official-accused-of-from/
An assistant director at Anderson-Oconee-Pickens Mental Health Center has been charged with stealing money from a patient at Patrick B. Harris Psychiatric Hospital. She is accused of exploiting a vulnerable adult for her own financial gain, and could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

5.            UTAH (Kearns), Salt Lake Tribune, September 21, 2012
Kearns woman found guilty of fatal abuse of disabled woman
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54941853-78/beckering-harms-abuse-closet.html.csp
A jury found a Kearns woman guilty of ignoring abuse that eventually killed a mentally disabled woman living in her home. The woman was convicted of one count of first-degree felony aggravated abuse of a disabled adult stemming from the March 2011 death of the 22-year-old disabled woman. She faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced on November 2. When the disabled woman, who had fetal alcohol syndrome, was found dead on the floor of the family’s home in Kearns, she had bruises on her body, bandages wrapped tight on her arms and fingers, and a pepper seed stuck under one eyelid. An autopsy found she was severely dehydrated and had potentially fatal levels of Benadryl or a similar drug in her system.

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Upcoming Elder Abuse Conferences/Training Events (in chronological order):

●    The 19th Annual New York State Adult Abuse Training Institute will be held October 2-4, 2012, Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Albany , New York . This year’s theme is Broken Trust: How to Recognize and Respond to Financial Exploitation. Oct 2 : Financial Exploitation Summit. More information:http://www.compassionandsupport.org/pdfs/news/10212-AATIConf.pdf

●    2012 NAPSA Conference: Ending Adult Abuse: On the Horizon? (October 16-18).  This event in Phoenix, Arizona will be followed by the 3rd Annual Elder Financial Exploitation Summit on October 19, 2012. http://www.apsnetwork.org/Training/conference2012.htm  Email info@apsnetwork.org for more information.  Visit the NCEA booth at the NAPSA conference!

·         Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, 25th Annual National Summit, Enabling Caring Communities: Promoting Evidence-Based Programs Across the Lifespan, October 24-25, 2012, Georgia Southwestern State University, Americus, GA  For more information go to : http://www.rosalynncarter.org/  

·       American Public Health Association’s 140^th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 27-31, 2012 in San Francisco, California. The theme this year is Prevention and Wellness Across the Life Span. For details, visit: http://www.apha.org/meetings/AnnualMeeting/   Visit the NCEA booth at the APHA conference!

·       The National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP) to release their famous 2012 Tool Kit on dementia education on November 1, 2012. For the fifth year, they will host Alzheimer’s and Dementia Staff Education Week February 14-21, 2013
http://www.nccdp.org/staff-education-week.htm\

·       The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies is having its 28th Annual Meeting November 1-3 at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles, CA at L.A. Live. The theme this year will be Beyond Boundaries: Innovations to Expand Services and Tailor Traumatic Stress Treatments
http://www.istss.org/Home1.htm

·       The 29^th Annual Adult Protective Services Conference in San Antonio, Texas will take place November 13-16^th. The conference has attracted people from almost every state in the U.S., as well as attendees from Japan, Canada, England, Australia, and Mexico. http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adult_Protection/Adult_Protective_Services_Conference/default.asp

·       The Gerontological Society of America’s Sixty-Fifth Annual Scientific Meeting, Charting Frontiers in Aging, will take place from November 14-18, 2012, in San Diego, California. For details, visit: http://www.geron.org/annual-meeting

·         California District Attorneys Association 2012 National Elder Abuse Symposium (December 4-7, 2012) Guest speakers to include Paul Greenwood, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney, Bob Nichols, Retired Marin County Deputy District Attorney, and many more. http://www.cdaa.org/training/seminar-conference-registration?regevent_action=register&event_id=35

 An collection of previous newsfeeds is available here: http://nceagov.posterous.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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