Keeping Mom & Dad Healthy & Safe

 Elder abuse is a huge problem that people are afraid to discuss. My local newspaper, the Providence Journal, reports today (10/21/09) that there are between 800 and 900 reported cases of abuse in Rhode Island every year and about 3 million cases of reported elder abuse nationwide each year.  We know that these are conservative numbers because so many instances of abuse are not reported. Families, friends, neighbors, professionals … we can protect seniors by knowing the signs of abuse, paying attention, reporting and pursuing claims. 

I believe that “We are our brother’s keeper. We are our sister’s keeper. We are our loved ones’ keeper.” I wrote a book “How to Keep Loved Ones Healthy & Safe in Nursing Homes” and give workshops teaching families how to be advocates. The book is free and available from my website at www.padwalaw.com.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/SAFE_HAVEN_FOR_ELDERLY_10-21-09_SFG5CRK_v27.39866e9.html

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/21232364/detail.html

A 100-year-old woman who was found dead last month at the Brandon Woods Nursing Home in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.   An autopsy showed that the cause of death was manual strangulation and the manner of death was a homicide.  A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told the press that the resident was found with a plastic bag over her head in a room she shared with a woman in her 90s.