Funding for Louisiana’s Elder Unit Moves to Health Department

Some Louisiana lawmakers and most state Council on Aging officials celebrated during the session when legislation was defeated that would transfer the investigation of elderly abuse cases from the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs to the Department of Health and Hospitals.

But since the state budget transferred the funding and staffing for the investigations to the health department, the move has begun without the legislation authored by Sen. Sherri Smith Buffington, R-Keithville.

“With HB1 becoming law, elderly protective service functions from the Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs will now be transferred to DHH,” said health department Secretary Bruce Greenstein.

“To be clear, this action does not merge GOEA and DHH, and it has no impact on Councils on Aging or Area Agencies on Aging,” he said. “This transfer consolidates adult and elderly protective services under one roof, eliminates duplicative services, more effectively leverages resources, and, most importantly, better serves vulnerable populations throughout the state.”

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Funding for La’s Elder Unit Moves to Health Department

Iowa Judge’s Ruling Upsets Officials

A Burlington woman and her daughter authorities said abused a mentally handicapped man they were supposed to be caring for were placed on probation for five years during separate hearings Monday morning.

District Court Judge John Wright said the sentences for Cindy Dameron, 54, and Jodi Dameron, 35, were intended to allow the women to promptly pay back the $50,000 they are accused of stealing from their victim.

Wright said if the women were sent to prison, they could be paroled in less than two years.

“You’re going to have a lot of money to pay back along with your mother,” Wright told Jodi Dameron.

The sentences met fierce disagreement from at least seven officials from the Des Moines County Health Department and Area Agency for Aging, all of whom attended the sentencing hearings.

Since they were not considered victims, a reading of a collective statement from the officials was not allowed.

“We are sometimes very frustrated because we see that ‘systems’ don’t take this seriously as we hope they would,” the statement said.

“We strongly believe that rendering a sentence of probation for their crime against Robert L. Luth (victim) sends the wrong message to elders, their families and the community at large.

‘The message would be that it is okay to financially exploit an elder because the most that could happen to you is that you will get probation.”

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Judge’s Ruling Upsets Officials

LA: Seniors Speak Out Against Elderly Services Merger

Hundreds of senior citizens packed themselves into the state capitol to make their voices heard.

“We’re not broken! Don’t fix us,” Kitty Askew says. She was up at 5:00 in the morning to take a bus ride to Baton Rouge from Cameron Parish to protest against Senate Bill 690.

That bill looks to merge the Government’s Office of Elderly Affairs with the Department of Health and Hospitals’ Office of Aging and Adult Services. GOEA includes the Council on Aging.

“We’ve been on our own for all these years! We haven’t asked anybody for anything and now, they want to lump us in with everybody,” Askew says. “It’s not going to work.”

She and the many other people worry that merging the two agencies for the elderly will negatively impact the Council on Aging.

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Senior Citizens Speak Out Against Elderly Services Merger

>IL Dept. on Aging Honors Advocates

>The Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) hosted its annual awards ceremony to recognize individuals and organizations whose contributions and accomplishments in assisting older adults merit recognition. Each year the awards ceremony serves as the final event during the Governor’s Conference on Aging where advocates and experts from across the state gather to focus on issues that affect the aging population. This year’s conference was December 8-10 at the Chicago Marriott Downtown.

“These individuals and organizations put a great deal of time and effort into addressing the needs of older adults,” said IDoA Director Charles D. Johnson. “And getting together for this conference, which is the largest statewide meeting of those who work in the aging network, provides the perfect setting to honor them.”

One of this year’s award winners was the Honorable Lisa Madigan, Attorney General for the State of Illinois. Ms. Madigan received the Sid Granet Aging Network Achievement Award on behalf of the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging for her aggressive legal action against those taking advantage of older adults. She has been instrumental in drafting legislation and launched “Operation Guardian,” with brings together state and local law enforcement and health inspectors to conduct unannounced inspections of nursing homes to ensure compliance and to remove residents with outstanding warrants.

“I’m honored today to receive this award from the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging,” said Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “These are very tough times for all of us, and seniors have been hit particularly hard. It is imperative we protect them from both physical and financial harm. I am proud to accept this award in recognition of the important work that my office does every day to ensure that older citizens are treated with the respect they deserve.”

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IL Dept. on Aging Honors Advocates Who Assist Older Adults

Nursing Home Rights in TX

Although they sometimes aren’t aware of the extent of their rights, residents of nursing homes can leave if they wish, refuse medication and make choices about what foods they will and won’t eat.

Such personal decisions, said managing local ombudsman for the Area Agency on Aging Cindy Oglesby, may seem basic. But for some living in residential care facilities these are rights they may not be aware they have.

Volunteers with the Area Agency on Agency, which is sponsored locally by the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission and funded by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, work to ensure nursing home, assisted living and retirement home residents are aware of their rights. But, Oglesby said, some still don’t know and they’re taking this week — being recognized nationally as Residents’ Rights Week — to provide a reminder.

“They have the right to be treated with respect and dignity,” Oglesby said.

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<a href="
http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/10/09/news/top_stories/residents_rights_week.txt”>Nursing Home Rights

Protect, Detect, Report

“Elder Financial Abuse: The Crime of the 21st Century” will be the opening address at a Hawaii Anti-Fraud Conference April 25 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Mary Twomey, co-director of the Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and Neglect, University of California, Irvine, will be the guest speaker.

The state Executive Office on Aging and Senior Medicare Patrol Hawaii are sponsoring the event, “Protect, Detect, Report,” with the City and County of Honolulu’s Elderly Affairs Division.

The conference, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., will focus on exploitation of seniors in fraudulent health care and financial schemes.

The registration deadline is April 20. The cost is $10 for seniors age 60 and older and $30 for non-seniors. The fee includes a continental breakfast, late-morning snack and conference materials.

Program and registration information is available at the Executive Office on Aging, 586-0100.

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Conference to focus on financial abuse of seniors

>Protect, Detect, Report

>

“Elder Financial Abuse: The Crime of the 21st Century” will be the opening address at a Hawaii Anti-Fraud Conference April 25 at the Hawaii Convention Center.

Mary Twomey, co-director of the Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and Neglect, University of California, Irvine, will be the guest speaker.

The state Executive Office on Aging and Senior Medicare Patrol Hawaii are sponsoring the event, “Protect, Detect, Report,” with the City and County of Honolulu’s Elderly Affairs Division.

The conference, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., will focus on exploitation of seniors in fraudulent health care and financial schemes.

The registration deadline is April 20. The cost is $10 for seniors age 60 and older and $30 for non-seniors. The fee includes a continental breakfast, late-morning snack and conference materials.

Program and registration information is available at the Executive Office on Aging, 586-0100.

Full Article and Source:
Conference to focus on financial abuse of seniors

National Healthcare Decisions Day

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is Thursday, April 16.

This nationwide initiative is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for health care decisions and to encourage the use of advance directives to communicate important health care decisions. NHDD is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions. It is estimated that only about 25 percent of people in the United States have executed an advance directive. Moreover, it is estimated that less than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive. We hope you will help to raise public awareness about the need for advance planning. To learn more about NHDD and how you can become involved, please visit:

http://www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org/Welcome.htm

Source:
2009 National Healthcare Decisions Day April 16, 2009

>National Healthcare Decisions Day

>

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is Thursday, April 16.

This nationwide initiative is designed to raise public awareness of the need to plan ahead for health care decisions and to encourage the use of advance directives to communicate important health care decisions. NHDD is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions. It is estimated that only about 25 percent of people in the United States have executed an advance directive. Moreover, it is estimated that less than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive. We hope you will help to raise public awareness about the need for advance planning. To learn more about NHDD and how you can become involved, please visit:

http://www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org/Welcome.htm

Source:
2009 National Healthcare Decisions Day April 16, 2009