The adverse consequences of poor medical care for seniors, especially people with dementia, don’t require a deep understanding. The good news is that there are several options for senior citizens who require assistance with their daily living, including independent living communities, nursing homes, residential care facilities, and even unpaid caregivers.

However, many prefer in-home care as it is inexpensive compared to other living arrangements, and older people receive the care they need in their home environment. Although many elderly prefer receiving care at home rather than staying at residential care facilities, a recent report revealed serious problems associated with in-home care.

Ehline Law and our elder abuse personal injury attorneys have worked closely with elderly abuse victims, helping them with legal care and advocating for their rights. We understand the troubles older adults go through, which is why it is crucial to talk about their needs.

What Are Unmet Care Needs?

Unmet needs occur when older adults receiving assistance do not get the required support services. Unmet needs can seriously affect an elderly’s quality of life, leading to an increase in hospitalizations and early deaths.

Study Reveals Unmet Needs of Seniors Relying on In-home Care

There is no consensus on defining and assessing unmet needs, and many previous researchers emphasize the factors associated with unmet needs at a micro level.

Let’s examine the findings of the study published by the Population Reference Bureau on October 19, 2022, and consider whether they are different from studies conducted in the past.

The In-home Care Elderly Have Unmet Needs than Those Living in Residential Facilities

The study uses National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) data (2015 and 2017) to study the relationship between the adverse consequences of unmet needs and the type of care older people receive.

It focuses on the elderly receiving help with at least one of the following activities due to their health and physical disabilities or limitations:

• Self-care activities
• Mobility activities
• Household activities.

In a National Health and Aging Trends Study by the University of Wisconsin, the odds of facing unmet needs with at-home care services compared to those living in residential care homes are almost four times higher.

There is a serious need to improve at-home care arrangements to meet the needs of the elderly who pay for such services. Some elderly may be less comfortable receiving help during baths or showers, which is why simple solutions such as fitting grab bars or seats in the shower can provide them with the independence they require.

These solutions are already present at most residential living facilities, which may explain why older people are not facing such hardships.

Poor communication causes a gap between the care provided and the elderly’s expectations. For example, at-home care may help with laundry, perhaps not food preparation. Better communication between the elderly and caregivers or healthcare providers is needed to understand the needs of older adults.

A multi-level perspective study conducted in Switzerland demonstrated that the situation may be much worse if there is a language barrier.

Older People in Stepfamilies Are Less Likely to Receive Help from Adult Children

Although older adults face challenges while receiving in-home care, the negative consequences are far more significant for those living with stepfamilies.

The shift from traditional American culture, where a man would only have one wife, to divorces and remarriages has led many older parents to have more stepchildren than biological children. About one in eight older adults with activity limitations have a stepchild.

There would be a disconnect and lack of care between adult children and older parents, especially if the children did not live with their parents or step-parents during childhood.

The study shows older adults with biological children are more likely to receive care than stepchildren. Surprisingly, even with this gap between care provided by biological and stepchildren, 50% of older adults still have their needs unmet.

Using the 2015 NHATS data of 2,000 older parents, the research study explores whether parents were living with their partner and receiving care from them. According to the findings, older adults living with their partner or adult child still had high rates of unmet needs. Although the partner and adult children care for them, they might require help and training.

Other help that the partner or adult children can receive includes home modifications, counseling on how to care for older adults and receive benefits, and programs that offer respite care.

The government should also provide financial assistance in the form of paid family leave or tax credits to help families cover the caregiving expenses of older adults.

Older Adults with Lower Incomes and Dementia Are More Likely to Face Consequences of Unmet

Adults with dementia often struggle financially, as treating dementia can drain their bank balance. Most older adults who have dementia are enrolled in both federal programs, Medicaid and Medicare, meaning they fall under the low-income group and have limited social support. Those with stepchildren receive little to no family support, resulting in inadequate at-home care.

It can make it challenging to receive the extensive care needed by the elderly with advanced stages of dementia. Family caregivers can provide only primary care about eating, bathing, and dressing for older adults living with advanced dementia. Family members cannot offer specialized care, including cognitive exercise and rehabilitation services.

Those with dementia often face greater odds of suffering from the consequences of unmet care than those without dementia. Caregiving is a collaborative effort between the paid caregivers, other unpaid caregivers, and the informal caregiver (family or friends). Often, caregivers may not be ready to properly give attention to the older adult since they may juggle multiple paid jobs or care for their children.

There is a need for generous and accessible Medicaid or government support programs offering home and community-based services to lower-income adults with dementia. These can include extensive training for paid and informal caregivers, an increase in caregiver wages, and funding for medical assistance equipment or necessary home modifications. The bad news is that less than half of seniors carry private insurance for health care, so it can be tricky to get what you need for things like the unmet need for dementia living provisions.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Ehline Law

Although older people receiving care in their homes have unmet needs, those at residential homes are at risk of elderly abuse. Negligent caregivers and improperly trained staff can result in serious injuries, affecting the elderly’s quality of life and social interaction.

Senior citizens often are afraid to speak up about the abuse or injuries they suffer at the hands of a caregiver or nurse. If you notice signs of elder abuse on your parents or someone you know residing at residential living facilities, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation, as they may need legal help to gain a better understanding and possible explanation of how to obtain financial damages from a negligent nursing home or care provider.

Elder financial abuse is rampant in America. More than 369,000 incidents of financial abuse happen every year. Around $4.8 billion is lost because of this. However, it can be prevented if people read these top tips on financial abuse so that they can protect their family members.

Get a Power of Attorney

The family member will still be capable of making financial decisions, but they should have the right person in place if they become incapacitated. Also, two people can be appointed to help with this if they think it is correct.

When someone speaks to a legal authority, like a lawyer, to decide who can be power of attorney, they will ensure that everything has been put in place correctly. To prevent elder financial abuse, there needs to be a team of people who are ready to work together.

A Contact for Bank Accounts and Other Investments

Financial abuse can happen under someone’s nose, so people should always have someone else as a trusted contact on their bank account. Identity theft occurs amongst the elder community, which puts them in a vulnerable position.

If someone waits for their financial statements to see any sudden changes to their account, they might be too late. However, when someone at the bank notices that the spending patterns appear strange, they can call the trusted person on the account to see if everything is okay. Also, the bank can ask the person about unpaid bills so older adults do not fall behind on their payment plans.

Lastly, the selected person should only be able to view the account and not control what is in it. This can be done by financial advisors at the bank so that elder financial exploitation does not happen.

Track All Accounts to Stop Elder Financial Abuse

Prevent elder financial exploitation by tracking all accounts, investments, and credit cards. There are many warning signs that show when someone is being taken advantage of, but they can be hard to miss because people may not want to fill in the many forms that it will take to get there.

However, many apps that do this will not have those forms, so getting these accounts in place is easy.

Call Ehline Law Firm Today to Stop Financial Elder Abuse

Financial matters can be challenging to figure out, but when someone speaks to a member of the Ehline Law Firm, they will know they are in good hands. The team understands financial power and the law, which is why they will help clients get the results they want for their cases.

Anyone with questions should call the team at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation.

Nursing home abuse is a growing problem. To illustrate this, at least two recent studies show how prevalent this treatment of elderly adults is. Nursing home abuse is an increasing problem.

One of the studies included both elderly citizens and nursing home staff. Even some nursing home staff members had seen the elderly abuse by other staff members. Attorneys help even the odds in all cases, and sometimes, that is the only thing that exposes the harm to the court and regulatory systems.

What Are Some Recent Case Studies?

The National Center for the Protection of Older People at the University College Dublin found in their research that over one in four employees had witnessed psychological abuse. This kind of ill-treatment includes shouting, swearing, or insulting the elderly resident at a nursing home.

This is heinous enough, but to make elderly nursing home abuse even worse, one in eight employees had witnessed residents’ physical abuse. So this involves pushing, shoving, pinching, grabbing, or unnecessarily restraining residents.

Theft By Caretakers

This in-depth study covered over 1300 nurses and healthcare assistants from 64 nursing homes. The study’s research data showed physical and mental abuse was not the only crime. Also, 1.2% of staff members were seen by other employees stealing residents’ valuables.

Gullibility Of Seniors

Many nursing abuse law firms argued in court that elders are susceptible to being scammed. At least one recent study that the University of California conducted in Los Angeles supports this argument. It focused on the brain of the elderly and found significant differences in the critical areas compared to younger patients.

• The study used participants from a senior living center between 55 and 84; they used staff members and students between 20 and 42.

They found that when the two groups were shown a series of photographs of individuals who appeared trustworthy and others with a shifty appearance, there was a tremendous difference in reactions in both groups’ brains.

• The younger participants were able to quickly identify the people in the photos who they should not trust.
• The elderly group of members did not have the same gut reaction.

“Gut Reaction” Response Seems to Disappear in Elder Brains

Further, an MRI test showed that the brain’s part, known as the anterior insula, in older participants lacked activity. For the younger participants, there was a flurry of activity.

• The anterior insula is where “gut reactions” originate in the brain.

So this makes you feel ill at ease or stressepickcks up behaviors and helps you make difficult decisions.

• Researchers determined that this lack of anterior insula activity makes it difficult for an elderly citizen to recognize the appearance and behavior signals of being scammed.

This gullibility puts them at risk can:

• Cost them their life savings
• Bring them in physical danger.

These are only two of the recent studies concerning nursing home abuse. They show possible reasons that nursing home abuse and scamming of elders occur so often. Some abusers know no empathy.

What are Some Recent Cases of Abuse?

Recently, two nurses were held responsible for felony elder abuse of a nursing home resident who succumbed to the lack of proper care. One staff member was a registered nurse and nursing director at the now-defunct El Dorado Care Center.

This now-closed location is where the alleged abuse occurred. When the resident was hospitalized, the ER documented injuries other than hospital admissions reported, including bruises and her wounded pinky finger.

The nursing home owner, Horizon West Healthcare Inc., when held accountable, settled the claim for:

• $3 million
• Sold 27 nursing homes it owned

In civil court, the elder abuse victim’s husband, as a part of his lawsuit, claimed the nursing home was understaffed to maximize profits.

What About The Unreported Abuse?

These nursing home employees were held accountable in the above cases. However, there are thousands of nursing home abuse cases, with what is believed to be approximately half or more never reported to authorities. This silence is because, in most cases, the nursing home resident feels defenseless.

They do not believe they have an avenue to stop the mistreatment, so they live in fear of the abuse. And this is what the nursing home staff member, who won’t give proper care, counts on. Often, elder abuse only comes to light because of the family members who recognize the signs!

So they are forced to go to the authorities and perhaps an elder abuse lawyer. But what about older people without immediate family or friends to raise the alarm? What do they do? Where is the oversight? Lobbying Sacramento is one way to help reel in the mistreatment. But civility and empathy are the only ways to end our seniors’ harm.

There is a lot to this. Of course, there are many excellent care providers. But one weak link in the chain can bring the whole house of cards down.

Be forever vigilant about the abuse of seniors. As noted above, an elderly law abuse attorney can help even some of the odds. If you need help with an elderly abuse law question, use our online contact form or call Ehline Law Firm Personal Injury Attorneys, APLC, at (213) 596-9642.

Forms of Elder Abuse – Exhaustive List

Abuse of older people is a problem that is growing. We don’t know why it happens or how to stop the spread of this kind of behavior. Below, our Los Angeles elderly abuse lawyers created an exhaustive list of elder abuse in its many forms.

For the list of the more common types, go here. One of the things that can be done is for the concerned person to know the warning signs. That way, if a possible problem exists, people can call for help. Our firm stands ready to service in any way needed. Contact us for more info today.

Physical Abuse Defined

The definition of physical abuse is the use of force, which can result in bodily injury, impairment, or physical pain. This damage can include acts of violence, such as hitting, slapping, pinching, and striking. This could be done with or without using an object.

For example, pushing, shoving, shaking, beating, kicking, and burning could be the method, not limited to using force. There can also be the inappropriate use of physical restraints, force-feeding, use of drugs, and any bodily punishment. All are also physical abuse.

What Are Some Physical Abuse Signs and Symptoms of Elder Abuse?

These are the most detailed results of physical abuse but are not limited to these signs or symptoms.

• A report by an older adult of being mistreated, hit, slapped, or kicked.
• Caregiver’s refusal to allow the older adult to be seen by visitors alone.
• Sudden changes in the older adult’s behavior.
• Physical signs of being subjected to punishment.
• Signs of being restrained include bruising, lacerations, or red marks on the wrists and ankles. There may also be signs of a lack of proper circulation to the heels.
• They have broken eyeglass frames.
• Unexplained or frequent bruising, lacerations, and welts.
• Sprains and dislocations.
• Fractured bones, broken bones, and skull fractures.
• Open wounds, cuts, and punctures.
• Signs of untreated wounds in various stages of healing.
• Rope burns.
• Internal injuries and bleeding.
• Underuse of prescribed drugs.
• Laboratory findings of medication overdoses.

Sexual Abuse Of Dependents.

Sexual abuse is a form of physical abuse, which is the act of non-consensual contact with an elderly adult. This mistreatment can be sexual contact with anyone incapable of giving consent.

Sexual abuse and rape are not limited to unwanted touching. So this includes all types of sexual assault and battery, including rape, sodomy, sexually explicit photos, and coerced nudity.

Sexual Abuse Signs And Symptoms

In addition, signs include:

• The report by an older adult of being sexually assaulted or raped.
• Bruising around the breasts or genital area.
• Stained, torn, or bloody underclothing.
• Unexplained vaginal or anal bleeding.
• Genital infections
• Venereal disease

Emotional Or Psychological Abuse

The definition of emotional or psychological abuse is the infliction of pain, distress, or anguish by verbal or non-verbal acts. In addition, this type of abuse includes verbal assaults, insults, intimidation, humiliation, harassment, and threats. Secondly, there are no limits on the types of elder abuse.

Isolating an elderly person from their family or activities or giving them the “silent treatment.” These are all forms of forced social isolation. Hence, they are forms of emotional or psychological abuse. Threatening a senior is analogous to the abuse of an infant. After all, they depend on the healthcare provider or nursing home staff.

Emotional Or Psychological Abuse Signs And Symptoms

These are common signs and symptoms of emotional or psychological abuse but are not limited to these.

• Reports by the older adult of being verbally or emotionally mistreated.
• Extremely withdrawn behavior.
• Non-communicative
• Non-responsive
• Unusual behavior, which could be attributed to signs of dementia, is not in reality, including rocking, sucking, and biting.

More Signs Of Elderly Neglect

Neglect can take several forms, generally refusing the elderly adult shelter, food, water, personal hygiene, personal safety, medicine, comfort, and other essentials, which are agreed upon or implied in the caretaker’s responsibility to an older adult.

Neglect can be the failure or refusal in any way of a person or staff member to assign duties to the older adult. It can also be a failure on the part of a person who has fiduciary roles.

So, it’s a failure to provide care for the older adult.

• Part of eldercare means paying for necessary home care services or long-term care facility costs.
• An in-home service provider’s failure to disburse funds for this care can be a failure. For example, you are giving the necessary attention.

What Are Some Signs and Symptoms of Neglect?

Furthermore, common signs include:

• Reports of neglect by the elderly adult.
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Lack of personal hygiene.
• Untreated or unattended health issues.
• Untreated bedsores and other wounds.
• Unsafe living conditions. Hazardous living conditions can also include no running water, no heat, and improper wiring.
• Unsanitary or unclean living conditions. Likewise, this filthy life can include dirty living conditions, urine/ fecal odor, inadequate clothing or soiled clothing, soiled bedding, fleas, and lice.

What Is Abandonment?

The definition of elderly abandonment abuse is the desertion of an older adult by the individual who has assumed the responsibility of caring for them or by an individual who has physical custody of the older adult.

Abandonment – Signs, And Symptoms?

The signs and symptoms of abandonment can include the following but are not limited to:

• A report by an older adult of abandonment
• Despondency
• Bedsores
• Fear of hands
• There are many more signs here.

Desertion of an older adult at any of the following:

• Shopping centers
• Public locations
• Hospitals
• Nursing facilities
• Long-term healthcare facilities
• The abandonment of elderly adults in other places

Financial Or Material Exploitation?

Financial or material exploitation is the improper or illegal use of a senior’s funds, assets, or property by another. This abuse can include cashing the older adult’s checks without permission or authorization, forging their signature, or stealing or misusing their possessions or money.

Deceiving or coercing an older adult to sign documents, contracts, or wills is part of it. However, it can also be the improper use of guardianship, power of attorney, or conservatorship. Seniors in exceptional homes often do not realize the issue. They usually do not know it until it is too late. A steady eye prevents many of these serious concerns. Children or grandchildren play a vital role in preventing these issues.

Signs And Symptoms Of Financial Or Material Exploitation?

These are common signs and symptoms of financial or material exploitation of an older adult. Not limited to:

• A person is reporting strange financial transactions. This includes bank statements.
• Unnecessary and costly transactions. These include large purchases.
• Unpaid bills, even when there is adequate availability of financial resources.
• Relatives or strangers not involved in care declaring their rights to the property.
• People are adding themselves to bank cards.
• Sudden changes in banking practices or bank accounts can mean an individual withdraws large sums of money, which may be accompanied by an elderly adult.
• Sudden transfers of assets to a family member or someone who is not related to the elderly adult.
• Sudden changes in financial documents or wills.
• Forgery of the older adult’s signature for financial transactions or titles of their possessions.
• Withdrawals using the older adult’s ATM cards to remove their funds.
• The unexplained disappearance of funds or possessions.

Self Neglect

This self-inflicted harm can occur and is not easily spotted unless the care provider is on their game. This insecurity occurs when an older adult’s behavior threatens their safety. This insecurity typically happens with an older adult who refuses or fails to provide themselves with shelter, adequate food, water, and clothing. Often, personal hygiene or prescribed medications, as well as practicing safety precautions, are at risk.

Self-neglect does not include situations where the older adult is mentally competent. This means that they must have complete faculty for their decisions. This is a conscious or voluntary decision to act in a way that could threaten their health or safety and is a choice. So, it means they know rather than are unaware of the results.

What Are Some Signs and Symptoms of Self Neglect?

In addition, common signs of self-neglect often include, but are not limited to:

• Malnutrition
• Dehydration
• Improper or untreated medical conditions.
• Lack of proper personal hygiene.
• I am living in unclean or unsanitary conditions. These conditions can include insects, urine or fecal odor, a non-working toilet, and animal waste.
• Unsafe living conditions. This includes having no running water, indoor plumbing, heat, or improper wiring.
• They were living in unfit housing.
• It is being homeless.

Contact Us

Above are the many signs and symptoms of elder abuse and neglect. Furthermore, if you have seen this in a person under care or elderly, do the right thing. Report this to law enforcement and help the victim get an elder abuse attorney. Root out the problem at its source. Contact the police as soon as you can.

Our attorneys care about each of our clients. The firm’s head is Michael Ehline. Ehline is a former Marine who is angered at the thought of our elders’ abuse. We answer the phone day and night. Our firm also comes to you wherever you are. We offer a free, no-pressure visit. Our decades of experience are on full display. See why our former clients trust us so much. In summary, contact us for more information.

Other Sources:

https://nyceac.com/elder-justice-dispatch-a-round-up-of-elder-justice-news-january-2013/

Working collaboratively against elder abuse and financial exploitation has existed for decades, but they’re only getting recognition or acceptability recently in the form of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). MDTs are still a relatively new concept, and most of it comes from experience rather than research.

Ehline Law and our Los Angeles, California, elder abuse attorneys continuously strive to fight for the rights of elder and financial abuse victims by holding nursing homes responsible for physically, mentally, sexually, and financially abusing their residents and recovering the compensation needed to help the victim and their family members move on.

Elder Financial Exploitation Statutes

The United States Department of Justice, including local and state governments, has enacted several legislations aimed at helping victims of physical, psychological, sexual, and elder financial abuse, including the Elder Justice Act, Adult Protective Services Act, Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, Adult Maltreatment Custody Act, and many more.

Reporting Elder and Financial Exploitation to Adult Protective Services

Adult protective services are the United States government’s social services that serve vulnerable adults, including older people and adults with disabilities (reduced mental functioning) suffering from abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

The official government organization reports abuse and elder financial abuse allegations to relevant United States government agencies, including law enforcement, the Department of Health Services, and others.

It’s straightforward to navigate through the official websites and find the information needed on these secure websites to report elderly physical, mental, sexual, and financial abuse. They may receive health care, and in cases involving financially exploited individuals, the financial institutions may be able to recover the person’s money back.

However, after the elder and financial abuse victims are safely connected to the system, the Gov websites fail to inform them of the challenging process they must endure. Unfortunately, as easy as it is to report financial abuse and other types of abuse, the system has a lot of shortcomings that the victims become entrapped in.

Introducing Multidisciplinary Teams to Cater to Physical, Sexual, Psychological, and Elder Financial Abuse

Every community is unique and differs politically, geographically, and demographically. It may vary in languages, religion, and traditions, but all communities can develop MDT to address the elder abuse around them.

Developing an MDT is challenging, and creating a team is no easy task. Grouping some professionals and calling it a “team” is far from ideal, as strong leadership—someone who can take charge and implement an MDT—is needed.

Often, there are leadership figures in communities who strive to improve the conditions of their society and advocate for change regarding elder abuse. The leader must have strong leadership qualities, be charismatic, and have political influence or networking, allowing them to interact with multiple agency leaders and cooperate in achieving the community goals.

A significant trait of an MDT is flexibility. The team may work towards achieving their goals by doing it in a certain way, but with time, if they find that the particular strategy is not helping them reach their targets, they can quickly adopt another approach.

An MDT coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the team works together. However, there can be disagreements, and sometimes, a different structure may help the team perform better. Coordination and feedback from team members are critical to MDT’s success.

An MDT may also embark on activities other MDTs believe align with their goals. They may identify the community’s needs and address them accordingly. For example, an MDT in Texas decided to provide a senior nurse once a week to Adult Protective Services as a resource for their workers to achieve the goals of the Texan community. Such innovations are a great way to move forward and improve the outlook of the community the MDT represents.

Defining a Multidisciplinary Team

According to the Department of Justice, an MDT is a group of people from various disciplines working collaboratively toward a single goal and purpose.

The five main characteristics of MDT include the following:

• Shared decision-making: The entire team is responsible for sharing information and participating in decision-making.
• Partnership: MDT is a partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding or Interagency Agreement.
• Interdependency: Every member of the MDT depends on each other, as MDT typically influences the outcome.
• Balanced power: MDT does not have a single member that dominates the entire group, and everyone shares responsibility and authority. Equal input is one of the pillars on which an MDT stands.
• Process: Team members work towards introducing protocols that resolve conflict and bring accountability into the case review process.

What Problems Do Multidisciplinary Teams Address?

Many MDTs specifically target older adults’ needs, especially regarding financial and elderly abuse. Some teams include elder fatality review, hoarding, mental illness, elder abuse, guardianship, financial abuse specialist, and code enforcement.

An MDT is not a new concept, but recently, there has been a growing acceptance of the need for one to tackle elder abuse in the United States. It is a victim-based approach designed to address the system’s shortcomings. An MDT aims to better understand elder abuse victims’ needs and priorities.

Why Is There a Need for Multidisciplinary Teams for Elder Abuse?

Elder abuse is not limited to physical, mental, and sexual abuse of the older person but also abandonment and financial abuse by another individual in a community, residential living, or care home setting.

Elder abuse has garnered massive public attention and greater societal awareness in recent decades. According to research, 10% of the elderly living in community, residential living, and care homes reported some elder abuse in the previous year. What’s concerning is most elder abuse cases do not receive the recognition needed.

Urgency in Identifying Abuse

There is an urgent need to identify and respond to elder abuse cases on the grounds of human rights and the consequences of it. For example, it is challenging for older adults to recover from the physical injuries and emotional trauma associated with the abuse, financial loss, and a higher risk of early mortality.

Most elder abuse victims make it into the system by reporting their issues to law enforcement or the relevant authorities assigned to cater to the older adult, such as Adult Protective Services (APS), Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman Programs, and others. However, an official response responsibility lies with the APS, an agency that helps the elderly (60 years and older) and dependent adults (18-59 disabled).

The United States system aimed at resolving widespread elder abuse seems to fail on many fronts, especially when it comes to detecting and caring for the victims. This is why there has been increased attention to the subject lately. So, how does this system work?

Once the victim enters the system, multiple agencies follow up as part of the protocol. The APS or law enforcement authorities may visit the victim to understand the situation. Some victims might have to go through a neuropsychologist, who assesses their cognitive abilities, while others may have a physician treating and documenting the victim’s injuries.

The system will arrange for law enforcement officers to interview the victim and, in some cases, even provide them with a safe place to take them away from the abusive environment. Multiple agencies may work on the same case, complicating the process as each agency deploys its strategy and plans to cater to the needs of the abused elderly, unaware that other agencies are also planning on their side to achieve their goals.

The approach does not cater to the victim’s needs and is not victim-centered; it focuses on achieving these agencies’ organizational goals. It also does not respond to the needs of the perpetrators, which is considered a sustainable intervention strategy in understanding the root cause of the problem.

With multiple agencies working on the same case, it can become highly problematic, resulting in a system overload and many other problems, including:

• Unfavorable outcomes for the victim
• A constant back and forth from one department to the other for the victim
• Interview duplication
• Adversarial investigation
• Lack of coordination between agencies
• Contradicting recommendations
• A poor understanding of the family’s needs and improperly addressing them with unnecessary interventions
• Failing to address underlying problems
• I was responding to one case without considering other potential victimizations.

The systematic failure signifies a need for one unit with experienced professionals from multiple backgrounds and agencies working collaboratively, taking charge of responsibilities, and participating in the decision-making process—a multidisciplinary team.

Benefits of an MDT Approach Toward Elder Abuse

Multiple agencies working together cohesively can complement each other. By working as part of the MDT, the various agencies bring their expertise to a case and collaboratively prevent the victim from becoming another by-product of the systematic failure to prevent elder abuse.

Each agency in the MDT has the opportunity to shine and share the burden of investigating and responding to complicated abuse cases.

For example, it is often difficult for the physical and elder financial abuse victim to trust a local police officer with sensitive information compared to an APS official. However, law enforcement is better equipped to gather the evidence the criminal justice system requires to expedite the case. On the other hand, APS can empathize with the victim and ensure they receive the necessary services.

Additionally, MDT team members can provide each other with the support needed, as sometimes, working on a complicated elder abuse case can lead to secondary trauma effects. Altogether, it is highly bebenefits and can lead to a better outcome.

Agencies partnering up with each other can benefit the victim in many ways, including:

• Reduced duplicated interviews, various evaluations, and gathering evidence to support the victim’s case.
• MDT makes it possible for the victim to receive coordinated services
• Reduction in the number of systems the victim has to go through
• Greater service awareness and improved access to services
• Coordinated efforts mean tailored services incorporating their family member and their strengths
• Multiple creative solutions arise from collaborative efforts
• Enhanced monitoring and follow-ups to reduce the recurrence of abuse.

Schedule a Free Consultation with Ehline Law

Collaborative teams are now seen as a critical piece of the puzzle in solving the country’s rising elder physical, mental, sexual, and financial abuse cases. However, as of now, an experienced attorney is better equipped to help victims get away from the abuse, file a lawsuit against the nursing home, and fight for the compensation they deserve.

If you or your loved one is a victim of elder physical and financial abuse, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation with our California elder abuse attorneys, as you may qualify for compensation.