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Elder abuse reports skyrocket in Orange County
November 25th, 2009, 5:00 am · 18 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
There were 2,386 reports of adult abuse in Orange County in 1994.
There were nearly triple that many - 6,380 - in Orange County last year.
And 2009 is on track to break records, with 21 new reports every day, or some 7,500 this year.
The vast majority of these involve seniors being taken advantage of in their own homes, by friends or family members who are supposed to be protecting them.
“Often, the people being abused and neglected don’t want their family member to get in trouble, so they’re hesitant to report anything,” said Carol Mitchell, program manager for Orange County Adult Protective Services. “That’s the biggest threat people get - ‘If you call them to complain, they’re going to put you in a nursing home.‘ But that can’t happen. We don’t have the authority to do that. Our goal is to maintain people in their homes.”
Abuse investigations fall into Mitchell’s lap when people live in private homes. Investigations go to a different agency - the Council on Aging - when people live in nursing homes or other state-licensed facilities. (That system has its own troubles - which you can read about here.)
The reports that come Mitchell’s way are much harder to get at, and often, even more heartbreaking.
In addition to family members stealing from their aging relatives, there are reports of substance abuse, hording, self-neglect. “Were still getting word the word out about adult abuse, trying to educate people,” Mitchell said. “That’s an ongoing process. We’re where child abuse was 30 years ago.”
Reports come from doctors, nurses, therapists, law enforcement officials, and, beginning in 2007, financial institutions, which became “mandated reporters” by law. So now, when bank statements suggest a senior’s account is being suspiciously siphoned, the bank has to call Mitchell.
Reports of financial abuse form 29 percent of the total, she said.
A recent report by the National Institute of Justice found that about 11 percent of people over age 60 suffer from some sort of abuse every year. Consider:
- New York philanthropist Brooke Astor’s son was convicted last month of stealing from her, as she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
- A San Diego postal worker pleaded guilty last month to taking more than $50,000 from a woman on her route.
- A home aide worker near Fresno was convicted last year of involuntary manslaughter after giving an 85-year-old woman a lethal overdose of drugs and ransacking her house.
In 2004, 12 percent of Americans were over age 65. By 2050, that figure will grow to 21 percent , the U.S. Census Bureau says. These issues will only get more and more acute.
Government is beginning to act. The Elder Justice Act was introduced in the spring, and is tied up with the health care overhaul, as our colleagues at the Los Angeles Times report. A 2003 study estimated that between 1 million and 2 million people over age 65 have been exploited or mistreated by someone on whom they depend on for care and protection, according to the National Justice Center - and these figures may be just the tip of the iceberg. For every reported case of elder abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect, as many as five incidences may go unreported, research suggests.
Meantime, suspect abuse in Orange County? Call 1 800 451 5155.The hotline is available 24/7. Senior social workers answer the phone, and can help folks figure out if something suspicious is going on.
Want to help? APS is running a Senior Santa and Friends program this year, and is happy to accept donations of heaters, blankets, shower chairs, gift cards, etc., which will be distributed to disadvantaged seniors throughout the year. Contact Kim Pham at 714.825.3111 for more information.
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MY GOSH!!! The poor elderly.. I think some morons dont realize that they too will be elderly one day.
OCR - Are you trying to ruin my good mood for the holidays? Bad timing for this article. My guess is most people aren’t even going to check it out.
I checked it out and it is disgusting. What about the mood of the abused, neglected seniors this holiday season? I would have to guess that is it as much, if not more ruined than yours….
You are kidding, right?!!!!!!
Hey, TakeThePebble, you have yourself a really nice Thanksgiving, eh? You might want to go visit an elderly person and help feed him/her their dinner and while there, check out to see where you might eventually end up. Just a thought.
Wait until Obamacare is shoved down our throats. You can look forward to spending the last miserable months of your life in a state run facility tied to a wheel chair that won’t roll and left to stare at a curtain for hours on end while an illegal alien attendant beats you about the head and shoulders and takes the last few small bills out of your wallet…a nice touch…
You are so right. We elderly persons will be swept under the rug when it comes to our health care when Obama’s bill goes through. It is hard enough now to afford the medications we need. I am sorry to say I voted for him. Never again will I vote Democrat. Bonnie
I say raise awareness especially during the Holidays. Both of my parents are gone now but my oldest sister abused my mother by stealing over $30,000 from her in 3 months. My mother did NOT want to prosecute her own daughter.
I say anyone who abuses their aging parents should be taken out in the middle of town square and burned at the stake.
Everyone has failed to mention the fact that triple the number of reports means that the social workers are working 3 times as hard. Let’s not forget that the county and state budget problems means no new employees are hired!
ugh…anyone who messes with the elderly has MAJOR problems and deserves to be punished. Sorry, I feel nothing for the social workers…i you feel over-worked, you don’t take it out on seniors and the infirm.
My guess would be that elder abuse is not always the result of an overworked caregiver as much as retribution for past abuse by the elderly victim. It would be interesting to discover just how many of the elderly who are abused were themselves abusers of their children, who are now their caregivers.
Nancy, that is a good point. Elder abuse should not happen, but all the condemnation of it overlooks yes, that past possible abuse that the elderly did to children and that may even be continuing as the adult daughter (or son but its usually the daughter) is caring for them.
But, the fact of overworked and overwhelmed caregivers should not be overlooked either. And when that is coupled with a parent who continues past patterns of put downs and verbal abuse, some people break and do horrible things.
there needs to be more help for caregivers and especially medical providers should be alert to the needs of the caregivers as that is part of patient care. If the caregiver is overwhelmed and being verbally abused at least part of the time, the level of care provided is likely to suffer.
Tragically sometimes it can lead to tragic outcomes with murder suicides or just murder. That of course is not the answer, but yet sometimes it is applauded as a noble choice (usually in the case of spouses).
Dispectable …. no excuse for it.
I agree that we should raise awareness now and always. This story was in the OC Register in September 2009, but was swept under the rug when they converted to the new format.
There are many resources that she should have reached out to, but choose not too. Many commented that we didn’t know the people, so we shouldn’t pass judgement. But read the detective’s comments and weep.
Daughter charged with elder abuse
Westminster woman is accused of letting her mother’s bedsores become life-threatening.
By JON CASSIDY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
WESTMINSTER A 48-yearold Garden Grove woman was in court Friday to face a felony charge of inflicting injury on an elderly adult.
Cheryle Ann Ross, who lived with her mother at the El Dorado Mobile Home Park on Euclid Street, is accused of letting her mother’s bedsores deteriorate into a life-threatening condition.
Ross’ public defender, Steve Daniels, declined to comment.
She entered a plea of not guilty on July 20.
On June 29, an ambulance took Doris Ross, 74, to the hospital in critical condition after her skin ulcers became infected.
Dr. Asaad Hakim at Garden Grove Medical Center told police that Ross was suffering from septic shock and sepsis syndrome due to the infection, according to a search warrant. Sepsis syndrome – a full-body inflammation – has a mortality rate of 10 percent to 20 percent, according to pathology literature, while fullblown septic shock has a mortality rate of 80 percent to 90 percent.
She was also suffering from severe malnutrition and dehydration, as well as kidney failure.
A search warrant for the case – which does not mention the mother and daughter by name but includes their address and other identifiable details – lays out the police account of the investigation.
The Fountain Valley police detective who went to see her described her as “very gaunt” and “in a catatonic state.” He couldn’t disturb her to examine the ulcers, but a nurse showed him photos of “several large open ulcers on her buttocks, inner left knee, upper back, inner right knee, lower back, feet, and left hip.”
The ulcers appeared to be bedsores, the attending physician told police.
Cheryle Ross’ explanation, the doctor told police, was that “her mother’s health had begun to deteriorate over the past few months to the point where she refused to get out of bed or eat.”
When police went to the mobile home to talk to Cheryle Ross, she was gone. A neighbor told police that he sometimes heard Cheryle Ross yelling at her mother. The property manager said she’d received several complaints about Ross screaming at her mother.
Cheryle Ross knew about her mother’s ulcers for at least six weeks before she had to go to the hospital, according to the warrant.
A social worker showed a detective Doris Ross’ medical records, which recorded that Cheryle had brought her mother to see her primary-care physician on May 19 for a “sore on her bottom,” according to the search warrant.
Dr. Ajit Amirtha saw Doris Ross in his office May 19 and noted the bedsores in his report, but did not examine them. He couldn’t, he wrote, because “daughter says that she has no way to lift her mom right now.”
Cheryle Ross told a social worker that she couldn’t afford in-home care, and so was the only caregiver for her mother, who suffered from Parkinson’s, senility and dementia, according to the warrant.
In explaining his conclusion that a crime had taken place, the detective wrote that “the ulcers were so numerous and the victim’s overall physical condition was so poor that one could not help but notice. The victim’s daughter did not call for help until her mother became unresponsive.”
Cheryle Ross is scheduled to be back at Westminster Justice Center on Oct. 16 for a pretrial hearing.
CONTACT THE WRITER:
jcassidy@ocregister.com or 7 1 4-704-3782
What about the Dr who didn’t examine the Mother because the daughter had not way to life her mom?
That sounds like the daughter did try to get help but the dr failed to act. I would have thought that the dr should have used some creativity or something in order to examine them. Duh. She must not be the only elderly patient who can’t lift herself or that the caregiver can’t lift.
It sounds like when he heard that there was a sore on her bottom or bedsores that his just ignoring it because it was difficult to examine her was negligence on his part.
It is known that bedsores can escalate as they did in this case. Since the daughter brought her in to see the dr and he didn’t do anything, why is the daughter being blamed?
Did the dr give any advice or referral or treatment recommendations?
Of course if the mother was at least partly incontinent and needed to wear diapers that could have contributed also. My Dad had sores on his bottom which he was treated for off and on for awhile.
Another factor here could also be the fact of delay in noticing something due to a reluctance to invade the privacy of a parent’s private parts. If a parent seems to be continent and taking care of toileting, the adult child likely will be reluctant in this area. That’s not something you normally do with a parent.
Beware of skilled nursing facilities owned by Sun Healthcare Group Inc all over the country. They killed my mother, Evelyn Calvert, and four others in their Newport Beach facility, Sunbridge, which the Dept of Health forced them to sell Nov 30, 2003. I sued Sun and also my late former attorney for malpractice when I was cheated out of treble damages, since we could easily prove the willful misconduct of SUN’s CEO Rick Matros and Risk Mangager Dr Hunker. SUN’s (SUNH) board of directors has the evidence that the CEO committed criminal acts against me. They own Medical Director, Dr Stoney, testified in 2008 SUN killed my mother. They knew about broken equipment yet never repaired or replaced it. They had an exisiting permanent injunction against them with the State Attorney General’s office yet were never punished for the deaths I witnessed were their fault. (Richard Laga, Betty Harness, Stella Carter, Evelyn Calvert and man in Room 2-B Oct 2003).
Why?
Corruption, both political and corporate.
Before the baby boomers come of age and need these services we need to make a change. These large nursing home chains receive federal and state aid and should be held accountable for large salarie’s and bonus’ as the wall street gangs are.
Deborah Calvert
Newport Beach, California
It seems that there are different types of elder abuse.
One type is when someone takes advantage of a vulnerable elderly person such as stealing their money, etc.
Another type might be by a caregiver. That could be because the caregiver is incompetent or uncaring. Or, especially in the case of family caregivers, there could be a family history of a difficult relationship between the caregiver and the one receiving care.
In addition, caregiving can be tough and especially when it goes on for years. Some people have the means and the wisdom to take care of themselves and get respite care and to get away from it from time to time. For others, it is hard to be assertive and to say, “I need help.” Or even to know who to say it to.
Some medical personnel can be very insensitive and clueless and unnecessarily make the job of the caregiver more difficult in the way they give the runaround or request tests that may not be necessary and may be difficult to comply with. They may make things much more complicated than they need to be, adding stress to the caregiver.
One physician asst, rather than just do a simple urine test for a urinary infection in the office instead referred him to a lab. Of course that is a lot more trouble. Then the order wasn’t there. But he went ahead and gave a sample anyway. Then we found out that the dr had actually ordered a 24 hr urine test, where all was supposed to be collected over a 24 hr period. That’s kind of hard to do for someone who is at least partly incontinent and wears a pad or diaper. In addition, the purpose was to make sure he didn’t have a urinary infection before I went out of town on a trip, leaving him in the care of his college age granddaughter. That 24 hr test would not have been done in time to provide an answer. In addition, I had told the office that we would be stopping to shop right next door to one of the labs and asked him to call my cell phone. Couldn’t be bothered to do that in between patients to make it more convenient for us. No, we had to wait until later and make a special trip.
When someone already has lots of extra work just doing ordinary things like getting an elderly person in and out of the car and to the dr among other things, those additional things just add to the burden on the caregiver who really doesn’t need any extra burden.
Others can be really arrogant and not be very good about returning phone calls–even about such important things as getting a med dose right.
Its bad enough when drs are inconsiderate and disrespectful of the time of young and healthy people, but when it is an elderly person and their caregiver, it just adds to the weight of all the things that need to be done.
In addition, people are different. Some people are very organized as well as being assertive and can handle caregiving routines better than some others. Others upon whom caregiving falls are not as organized and so the burden is even heavier.
In all the time that I was caring for my Dad, I only had one dr ever ask how I was doing–and he was a locum tens (temp dr filling in at the primary dr’s office to handle the excess patients). In long term care theory, the dr is supposed to be the partner in care, but I didn’t see much of that.
Any dr dealing with seniors should have info available on referral services for various things. I know Dad’s dr’s previous office had a lot of that–before he got to the stage where it was needed. When it was needed, I didn’t know where to find help or info or a support group ( I tried a couple that didn’t work out well).
More attention needs to be given to the issue of caregiver stress. It is bad enough for an elderly parent. It is probably even worse when the caregiver is an also elderly spouse who may be less able to cope with it.
How many times have we read of a murder of an elderly and ailing spouse or a murder suicide? While some may think of it as a merciful act, it more likely is an act of desperation by an overwhelmed caregiver who is distressed, not only by seeing the suffering of the spouse, but also worn down and overwhelmed by caregiving.
Usually things may not get that bad, but when a caregiver is worn down and overwhelmed, they may just not be able to respond to all the calls for help, particularly if there have been previous false alarms.
Dr’s working with the elderly need to be alert to the needs of caregivers and how well they are handling caregiving since it can affect the quality of care being given.
They might also be able to detect evidence of incompetent or uncaring care, although should not necessarily jump to the conclusion that is the case, when it could just be that the caregiver is so worn down by care needs and complaints or demands that they have trouble responding.
For those who are overwhelmed, provide help and assistance before things escalate to harm the patient.
For those with harmful intent, those around need to be vigilant and when it happens, throw the book at them.
Those around should be alert and vigilant for either case and take steps to intervene if either is suspected.
OC4TRUTH: The detective summed it all very well:
n explaining his conclusion that a crime had taken place, the detective wrote that “the ulcers were so numerous and the victim’s overall physical condition was so poor that one could not help but notice. The victim’s daughter did not call for help until her mother became unresponsive.
“Elder Abuse is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring in any relationship where there is an expectation of trust that causes harm or distress to an older person”.
I can’t understand if she took her to the doctors office in May, and then did nothing for 3 months until she became unresponsive. The daughter should have spoken up and asked for help. I took care of my father, and nurses/doctors and social workers were always concerned about my well being as a caregiver. I never came across a case worker or anyone in the medical field that was unwilling to extend support or a helping hand.
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