World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

That’s according to Cheryl Senkbeil, MAC’s Ombudsman, who serves as an advocate for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities on the Lower Shore, working to ensure that these residents have quality of care and quality of life. Elder abuse knows no socioeconomic, racial, or cultural boundaries, she added. Education is a critical tool in preventing elder abuse, she said. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at least 1 in 10 adults over age 65 suffers from at least one type of abuse each year. The actual prevalence may be higher as many cases go unreported. Knowledge is power, Senkbeil said. Learning about the kinds of elder abuse and the signs and symptoms is an important step in helping to keep loved ones safe.

The National Center on Elder Abuse identifies the following types of elder abuse:

PHYSICAL – Use of force to threaten that may result in injury, pain, or impairment.
Signs/symptoms include:
• Bruises, black eyes, welts
• Broken bones
• Open wounds, cuts, punctures, untreated injuries
• Sprains, dislocations
• Broken eyeglasses/frames
• Caregiver’s refusal to allow visitors to see an elder alone

FINANCIAL – Improper use of an elder’s funds, property, or assets.
Signs/symptoms include:
• Sudden changes in bank account, including an unexplained withdrawal of large sums of money
• Additional names on an elder’s bank signature card
• Abrupt changes in a will
• Unexplained disappearance of funds

EMOTIONAL – Verbal attacks, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation; isolating an elderly person from family and friends.
Signs/symptoms include:
• Emotionally upset or agitated
• Withdrawn
• Unusual behavior typically attributed to dementia

SEXUAL ABUSE – Non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly person.
Signs/symptoms include:
• Bruises around the breasts or genital area
• Unexplained sexually transmitted disease or genital infections
• Torn or bloody underclothing

NEGLECT – Failure or refusal to provide for an older person’s safety, physical or emotional needs.
Signs/symptoms include:
• Malnutrition, untreated bed sores, poor personal hygiene
• Untreated health problems
• Unclean or unsafe living conditions

ABANDONMENT – Desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for an elder.
Signs/symptoms include:
• Desertion of an elder at a hospital, nursing facility, or similar institution, or at a shopping center or other public location
The National Center for Elder Abuse offers the following tips to protect yourself from becoming a victim of financial abuse and exploitation:
• Have your income, such as Social Security or retirement checks, deposited directly into your checking account
• Don’t sign any documents that you don’t completely understand without first consulting an attorney or a family member you trust
• Do not provide personal information over the phone, such as Social Security number or credit card information, unless you placed the call and know to whom you are speaking
• Tear up or shred credit card receipts, bank statements, and financial records before disposing of them in the trash

How to report abuse
To report suspected abuse in a nursing home, call Cheryl Senkbeil at MAC at 410-742-0505, Ext. 104. To report suspected abuse taking place in other community settings, call Adult Protective Services in your county or a law enforcement agency. Senkbeil added that anyone can report suspected abuse, and the report can be made anonymously. “We all need to look out for our loved ones and older adults” to keep them safe from abuse, she said.